How to Lose weight at 500 Pounds - Marc's Success Story

 A depressed 20st teen who tried to kill himself after relentless school bullying has shared a powerful message more than a decade on.  He is Marc Rodwell, now 30, spiralled into depression after bullies hurled cruel taunts at him like "fat boy", "fatty" and "who ate all the pies?".

At rock bottom and still only a child, he tried to take his own life, telling his mum he felt that "the world would be a better place without me".  Fortunately, he survived - but after leaving school due to the bullying, he became reclusive and agoraphobic, with his weight soaring to 500 pounds

Then, aged 19, his mum tragically fell ill and later died. Knowing his mother would have wanted him to be happy, Marc vowed to turn his life around and seek help to overcome his mental health battles.

And with determination and courage, he did. Today, he has triumphed over his struggles, lost an incredible amount of weight and is working to shine a light on the health issues men face.

He is participating in MoRuns across the UK to raise money for the Movember Foundation, a charity that supported him during his own battles.

"It's hard to look back at what was rock bottom for me. That feeling of hopelessness is unforgettable," Marc told Mirror Online. To sit and tell my mum that I honestly felt that the world would be a better place without me is like a scar I’ll carry forever." 

Now working as a part-time fitness instructor and spin instructor, he added: "There is some fantastic help out there for all ranges of mental health.

"Do not suffer in silence. Speak to anybody that will listen. Be it a family member, friend or fellow worker - don't forget it is OK not to be OK."

Marc, who lives in Stirling, Scotland, with his 31-year-old girlfriend Fay, fell victim to horrific bullying while he was at secondary school.

"I was bullied terribly throughout most of high school to the point where I left early because it did nothing but make me depressed," he recalled. I was so depressed that I got to the point where I tried to take my life.

“I feel I was bullied because I didn't typically blend in well with the other kids - they liked sports whereas I preferred video games. 

"On top of that, I didn't really have much going for me. I was overweight, wore glasses, had bad acne and was the tallest by a few inches."

He added: "Bullies would say things like 'fat boy'... 'who ate all the pies?' and other variations of things like 'fatty'."

Marc, formerly of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, was also subjected to impressions of 'Fat B*****d', a character from the Austin Powers film series.

When he left school aged just 15, he weighed 250 ponds.  And his weight doubled in subsequent years as he became a recluse. He began suffering from agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder where you fear being in situations where you might be trapped if something went wrong. 

 "My massive weight gain wasn't limited to just what I’d have for the normal three meals a day, " Marc recalled. It was more the amount of junk I was consuming and my lifestyle. I was gaming until the early hours of the morning with my American group.  This was fuelled by sugary sweets, coffee full of sugar and milk. Fizzy juice sometimes by the bottle-full in a night. I didn't go out ever so had no form of physical exercise. My portion size at meals was enough for two-three people.  I snacked heavily between meals through boredom."

And one morning, life took another turn for the worse. Marc's mum, who had suffered from a heart condition, suddenly collapsed, leaving her brain damaged due to lack of oxygen to her brain.

"It was just me and my dad, and we didn't always get along," he said. "My mum would end up being in hospital for four years before passing away."

Determined not to "waste another day sitting on my bum doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself", he finally started putting himself back in the world.

“I wanted to see myself happy like my mum would have wanted for me," he added.

With professional help, Marc was able to gradually build his confidence in public areas. He also started attending a gym five days a week and began eating healthily by Keto Diet ( Read more here ), which enabled him to shed weight. He lost 200 pounds in just 12 month!

“The exposure therapy my social worker did with me was a huge help”, he explained.  We started off just walking up and down the street then slowly branching out more and more. From that to going on public transport to more crowded areas that really challenged my agoraphobia."