'My daughter can get her arms around me now'

Martin Fletcher pictured before and after his 10-stone weight loss

A dad-of-two who "didn't want to become another statistic" has said he has managed to lose 10 stone (63.5kg) in just over a year through exercise alone.

Martin Fletcher, 46, from Liverpool, said he had been severely obese for more than 20 years and was concerned about the toll this was taking on his health.

His health problems included sleep apnoea, which caused him to stop breathing multiple times each night while he was asleep, and high blood pressure.

Martin, a musician and music producer, said: "The nicest part of this whole process is when my daughter said 'dad, I can get my arms around you now!'"

He said he was now able to stop taking his blood pressure medication and his wife Sarah and daughters Heidi, 11, and Freya, seven, were proud of him.

He has credited taking up a form of exercise based on yoga with getting him back in shape.

Martin Fletcher said prior to losing the weight he was so unhappy that he would try to avoid being photographed

Martin said he had struggled with his weight since leaving school, and when he first started doing any form of exercise around 10 years ago he was "so heavy I would hurt myself any time I worked out".

He said he previously weighed around 25 stone (158.8kg) and his body mass index was about 46, which was "ridiculously high".

Anyone with a BMI of 40 or over is classed as being severely obese.

Martin was diagnosed with high blood pressure and sleep apnoea at the age of 38 and his doctor warned him he was at risk of becoming diabetic.

He was offered bariatric surgery or weight loss injections, but said he did not want to go down either of these routes.

"I didn't want to be a statistic - another one who died in their 30s, 40s or 50s," he said.

"This year I just thought I can't live my life like this any more - I have had enough.

"I have got two young kids and I couldn't do sports day - I couldn't do anything with them as I was so sore and achy and so unmotivated."

'Something just clicked'

In October 2016 he first tried DDP Yoga, devised by former WWE wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to help him recover from a back injury and combining yoga with dynamic resistance and strength training and sports rehab therapy.

"Life got in the way and I would start and stop at least 50 times since then," he said, adding that he finally decided to commit to doing it every day.

"I don't know what clicked but I just wasn't willing to give up on myself any more," he said.

His daily routine, which he does six days a week, includes getting up at 05:30 BST and doing an hour of exercise first thing.

He said he was also planning to train to become a DDP Yoga instructor to help other people.