Super-slimmer Justin is '˜half the man he used to be'

A SUPER-SLIMMER is celebrating after shifting half his body weight in less than a year.
Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group 
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group 
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)
Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)

Last April, Justin Cornell weighed a whopping 26st – he was unhappy and seriously feared for his health.

Intent on making a change, the then 46-year-old signed up for the Baffins Slimming World group in a bid to face his demons.

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Now, just 10 months later, he is 13st lighter and enjoying a new lease of life.

Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group 
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group 
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)
Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)

Reflecting on his achievement, Mr Cornell of Newcome Road, Fratton, said: ‘To have lost all that weight in such a short amount of time is still unbelievable to me.

‘Joining Slimming World really did change my life and I suppose I’m literally half the man I used to be.’

Mr Cornell piled on the pounds during his 27 years of work for a city bank.

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He faced a battle with obesity once before – which he won – but rapidly gained weight again after doctors told him he would not be able to undergo skin removal surgery.

Justin Cornell, before his weight loss, at 29stJustin Cornell, before his weight loss, at 29st
Justin Cornell, before his weight loss, at 29st

Looking back on how much he used to weigh, Mr Cornell said: ‘I do often wonder how I allowed myself get into that situation.

‘My parents were really worried for me and I was getting more and more concerned about my health.

‘I thought it could all be over if I caught a bad case of the flu – it’s pretty frightening in retrospect.’

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Despite struggling to breathe and walk, Mr Cornell refused to get a gastric bypass and instead joined Slimming World, attending regular group classes led by 43-year-old Sarah Harley-Jones.

Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group 
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group 
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)
Justin Cornell from Portsmouth who has lost 13st after joining The Baffins Slimming World group Picture: Ian Hargreaves (180200-1)

In doing so, he underwent the firm’s food optimising plan and ditched his daily diet of triple sandwiches, crisps, fizzy drinks and two microwave meals.

Still a regular visitor to the group, which runs seven sessions a week at St Joseph’s Church Hall, Mr Cornell is now on a mission to inspire those fighting their own war against fat.

He said: ‘Slimming World is so much more than just a weight-loss group – I’ve made some amazing friends there.

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‘To help other people like me and make sure I don’t fall down that slippery slope again, I go to at least one of Sarah’s sessions a week.’

Having left his former job, Mr Cornell is now attempting to seal a university place studying diet and nutrition.

*Video soundtrack, credit: bensound.co.uk