A father from Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, has credited weight-loss injections for saving his life after shedding more than half of his body weight. Bryan Spark, 49, believes the medication helped him avoid “eating himself to death.”
Bryan, who once consumed over 5,000 calories a day—more than twice the recommended amount—would regularly finish off his son’s meals, eat entire packs of biscuits, and drink liters of sugary drinks.
In November 2023, after seeing a picture of himself at 33-stone (209 kg; 462 lbs) at his son’s birthday party, Bryan decided it was time for a change. His weight had reached a point where he couldn’t tie his own shoes or see the bathroom scale due to the size of his chest and stomach.
Now, after losing 18 stone (114 kg; 252 lbs), Bryan credits the £200-per-month Saxenda injection, followed by the NHS-prescribed Mounjaro, for his transformation.
Standing 6’3″ (190 cm) tall, Bryan recalls how embarrassing and difficult his life had become. He said, “It was horrendous. My wife had to write down my weight because I couldn’t even see the scale. The size of my chest and stomach blocked the view.”
Bryan, a full-time carer for his son and wife, set a goal to lose 10 stone with the help of diet, exercise, and weight-loss injections. He started cycling on an exercise bike, though he had to replace the saddle three times due to his weight. “I just kept replacing the seat and kept going,” he said. “It felt like I was getting healthier. I could breathe a bit easier.”
At the start of his journey, Bryan struggled to do simple tasks like climbing stairs without getting out of breath. “It was horrendous,” he said. “But then, when I started seeing the difference, when my t-shirts were too big, it was amazing.”
In the first six months, Bryan lost nearly eight stone, and his life began to change dramatically. Now weighing 15 stone (95 kg; 210 lbs), Bryan is planning a 1,000-mile charity bike ride from Lands End to John O’Groats in 2026 to mark his 50th birthday.
He is grateful to his doctor for encouraging him to visit a weight-loss clinic, stating that he wouldn’t have survived without the drastic lifestyle changes. “I was a heart attack waiting to happen, among other things. I was eating myself to death,” he said.
Bryan also expressed how his outlook on life has improved. “My attitude has changed; I’m a lot happier now. My family has supported me throughout, and while my wife loved me no matter my size, she was obviously concerned about my health,” he said.
The transformation has made even simple tasks like walking or tying his shoelaces much easier. “I can do things I couldn’t before,” he added. “I was struggling with everything, but now I can enjoy life again.”
