19 December 2012  JAMES Mason is less than half the man he used to be – after he shed a whopping TWENTY THREE STONE.
He slimmed down from a scale-busting 39 stone in just 18 months, thanks to nine months at Thai boxing and a healthy diet.
His doc warned in 2011 that he’d be dead in five years unless he drastically changed his lifestyle.
He regularly binged on greasy, fried food and meals out while working as a second-hand car salesman.
By the time James was 27 he was wearing XXXXXXXXL clothes and trousers with a 58-inch waist.
His health was very poor. He was suffering with breathing trouble, swollen legs and other physical problems which led doctors to give him the stark diagnosis.
He decided to change his life and found Thai training camp Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket on the internet.
James, of Main Road, Hockley, Essex, booked a flight and moved out to the training camp where he knuckled down to a healthy diet and exercise.
He ran 5.5km every morning on an empty stomach followed by a breakfast of fresh fruit salad, and took part in three or four high-energy Thai boxing sessions every day.
A typical dinner was grilled chicken, with veg and brown rice.
He said: “When I was at school I was captain of the basketball team, l played rugby too.
“When I went to work I got lazy. My weight just crept up on me over the years, I didn’t want to admit to myself that I needed to change my life.
“One day I went to the hospital and they said ‘you have got five years to live’. I then went on the internet and found Thai training camp Tiger Muay Thai and then just upped and left.
“Now I am training people all over the world.”
James, who has kept a blog of his time in Thailand, is now back in the UK for Christmas and told how his family and friends can’t believe the change.
He said: “People still don’t recognise me, mum and dad recognised me at the airport, just, they had to take a second glance! Some friends here have walked straight past me.”
The last year and a half hasn’t been easy and as well as the battle with his weight, he also caught a flesh-eating bug, necrotizing fasciitis, and could have lost his leg.
He said: “It was a struggle to walk 400 metres to begin with and now I am running 10km every morning. It changed my life. I am training four or five times a day.
“I was badly ill in August 2011, I was out of action for three months and had three operations to cut both my legs open and cut the infection out.”
James, who went to Greensward Academy in Greensward Lane, Hockley, is determined to keep his healthy lifestyle going and has organised a 750-mile bike ride from Phuket to Bangkok in January to raise money for disabled children in the country.
He added: “It is going to be tough, but it is nice to give back.”
To find out more about James’ story, or to sponsor his bike ride, go to www.weightlossthailand.com.