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"My wife gave me a heads up: you're fat!"

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

HOME: Harrington Park, NSW

OCCUPATION: Teacher

AGE: 36

HEIGHT: 180cm

WEIGHT BEFORE: 98kg

WEIGHT AFTER: 75kg

THE GAIN Drew had always been a chubby kid but had managed to get in shape in the last couple of years of high school. By the time he went to uni he was looking good, but in his final year he suffered a collapsed lung, a condition that incapacitated him for several weeks.

"I thought I was having heart attack," he remembers. "There was this pain all down my left side."

Afterwards, Drew started eating recklessly and with no cardio activity to burn off his excess consumption, it wasn't long before he was busting belt buckles.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 98 KG

THE CHANGE Drew's wake-up call came on a holiday with friends.

"We were at the beach," he recalls. "The three of us boys were throwing a ball around and I was having a bit of trouble keeping up with the younger blokes. Later that night, my wife pulled me aside and said that she was concerned about the weight I was carrying.

"I was a little shocked. We were expecting our second child and with the baby coming she wanted me to be fit and healthy. It hit me hard, but she did it in the nicest possible way. She said that it was the hardest thing she's ever had to do."

Drew booked in to see a dietician after his child was born.
"This was the best thing I did," he reveals. "She told me to reduce portion sizes and watch when and what to eat at certain times."

Drew took her advice and started to incorporate more cardio into his fitness workouts. He started walking to and from work - a 35-minute round trip that he believes made the most significant difference. "The weight just fell off," he says. "It's a great way to get fit as it gives you a de-stress mechanism at the end of the day and you can think and plan on the way, too."

WEIGHT AFTER: 75KG

THE RESULT Drew took a year to lose 23 kilograms and went from extra-large to medium shirts and from size 42 to 32 pants, measurements he has managed to maintain for four years. He's also lost a bit off his noggin.

"Looking back I can't believe how big my head was," he says. He attributes his continued success to lifestyle change. "I've been on diets before, but they don't tend to stick. It's about adopting a lifestyle and maintaining it. Once you get into a routine it's easy."

With his new stripped-down physique and compact head, Drew does weights and cardio twice a week with friends, plays touch footy and runs or cycles regularly.

"I just try and do something everyday," he says.

THE ADVICE "Enjoy your life in moderation," Drew advises. "You don't have to go without. You can have certain things at certain times. I eat what I want, like pizza or chocolate, just in smaller portions rather than going back for second or third helpings."