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"I ended up drinking around eight litres of Coke a day"

To kick the soft drink addiction Allan Melrose started an exercise routine with his wife and never looked back.

HOME: Townsville, QLD

OCCUPATION: Building Manager

AGE: 35

HEIGHT: 179 CENTIMETRES

THE GAIN Melrose was living a zombie-like existence, working 12-hour shifts on night patrol for a security company during the week and day shifts on the weekend. Needless to say, he didn't like his job much and eventually turned to food for comfort.

"Eating was a release," he admits. "Because I was living to work, rather than working to live."

With no time for exercise and a diet that consisted only of takeaway, Melrose's size ballooned to epic proportions.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 140 KG

THE CHANGE With his weight now at health-threatening levels, Melrose received a kick in the guts that jolted him into action.

"When I first met my wife I was the weight I am now. Then one day I overheard comments by one of her friends about how I'd really let myself go and how hard it must be to live with someone who'd put on so much weight," recalls Melrose. "I was pretty devastated and when I asked my wife about it, she confirmed that she wasn't happy with how things had changed."

His first step was to eliminate Coke from his diet completely. "Previously, on a 12-hour shift, I'd drink about eight litres of soft drink, so I reckon I lost 20kg just by stopping that."

He also got a new job with more favourable hours, stopped scoffing takeaway and began eating fruit and vegetables instead. And with much more energy to burn, he hit the gym three times a week.

WEIGHT AFTER: 85KG

THE RESULT Melrose lost around 55kg in 18 months, dropping from a XXXXL shirt size to a medium and whittling his waist down from 107cm to 82cm.

"I can't believe how much energy I have. My boys are in a rugby league team for which I'm a trainer, so I'm constantly running around with them," he says. "It's something I never would have been able to do before."

Meanwhile, his relationship with his wife, who began an exercise regimen at the same time, has never been better. "We've been together for 19 years, but she reckons the last couple have been the best. We exercise together now, which has brought us closer."

THE ADVICE "Get your family behind you. It really helps if they support you and it's also easier if you're all eating the same thing, rather than having to make a separate meal. The same applies with friends. If you have a few mates to go to the gym with, you can really spur each other on."

Men's Health Needs You!

Lost the lard? Show us how you went from lounge lizard to lean mean fighting machine by entering our Gutless Wonders competition.

Each month's winner will be published in Men's Health magazine and receive a prize worth over $200.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER GUTLESS WONDERS