My story
Frank Fry weighed 24 stones at his heaviest but after having a gastric band fitted he is now a trim 13*.
The owner of Amici restaurant on Cheltenham Road realised he needed to do something about his weight when one morning he could not get out of bed. After taking a look in the mirror he realised how much weight he had put on and looked into ways of losing it. Mr Fry, 50, said: “I had been trying to lose weight but bad lifestyle, bad habits and my way of life meant that it just would not work. I had to have a padlock put on the fridge.”
Mr Fry, a director of Bristol Security Group, which provides security staff to shops, hospitals, bars and clubs, researched options for gastric bands and went up to Healthier Weight for the surgery.
Now two years on from the operation he has reached his target weight and has been able to buy a new wardrobe of clothes.
Mr Fry, who in total spent nearly £7,000 on the band itself and the associated treatment, played rugby and was a boxer when he was younger so did not put on weight until he got older. But working in security meant he was often eating in restaurants or takeaways late at night and over a 10-year period he got to 24 stones.
He said: “I got to the point where I would stop looking at the size of clothes, but then one day I woke up and went to get out of bed but couldn’t. I was stuck and had to roll off the bed. I walked across and stopped in front of the mirror for the first time in years and I thought to myself, what’s happened? I really didn’t know I had got that big. I looked at my clothes and saw I was wearing size 52 waist trousers and size 64 chest jacket.”
The father of three gradually had his gastric band tightened to prevent him from eating the amount of food he had become used to and now he said he eats less and generally better food*. He has also been able to do more exercise and has joined the gym and started horse riding again*.
Mr Fry said: “I have got back to my normal self again. I can sit down comfortably and can get in and out of my car and can buy clothes off the peg again.” *