Eastney man who lost 20 stone in weight is walking 280 miles to raise money for Mind

Chris Mardlin, 34, has been on a rollercoaster with his weight since he was a youngster and he began forming obsessions with food, which triggered his rocky relationship with his image and diet. After more than a decade of weight loss attempts and health kicks, the 34-year-old has managed to lose the weight – without any surgery, which was recommended.

This month he is going to be walking 280 miles to raise money for Mind and raise awareness of his story in a bid to help others who are on an ongoing battle with their weight and image.

He said: ‘I was always going to chose a mental health charity because of what I have gone through.’

At only 11 years old, Chris began his journey with food and he said that he remembers watching an advert about eating healthy and it sparked guilt within him when he was eating. As a result of this, he turned to food and began eating in secret which saw him put on weight quickly, and by the time he was 13 he was 20 stone. Over the last two decades his weight has fluctuated and he has tried almost every diet on the market, as well as dieting pills which had a detrimental impact on him.

In 2014, Chris decided that he would break free from the obesity shackles that were holding him back from embracing his life’s potential, and he managed to lose an amazing 14 stone in nine months – but there was a catch. In order to get down to a slimmer frame, he was having to take dieting pills, which he became addicted to and they did not only give him a high, but they also resulted in heart problems, as well as having an impact on his relationship.

He came off of the pills soon after but his weight spiralled out of control and on a five day holiday at Butlin’s he put 30lbs on. In 2016, he began receiving help from professionals at St Mary’s and within six months he had managed to lose 12 stone, but they were unsure where to go next with him to help him further.

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They told him to return in six months but he piled the weight back on and went into hiding.

He said: ‘By the time the six months has ended I had started to put on weight again and I basically hid away for the next two years, and then I repeated the cycle in 2018 and lost about 10 stone and have repeated that cycle for the last 15 years of my life.

‘My health was bad, I was getting chest pains, and I was scared for my life. I couldn’t move much and I thought ‘I am going to do myself in within a year’ so I had to really approach it differently because I couldn’t go out much, but there was something I could do and it was going down to the beach and swim around.

‘I bought myself a snorkel mask and I saw all of the fish and for a minute my head disconnected from everything that was going on in my head and it made me realise that I do like life and I didn’t want to die, I wanted to live.

‘I thought rather than rush into it, this time I really wanted to try and think about what causes this and I always thought of it weightloss with the idea of having a goal and then when I get to it, I would feel happy, but I never felt happy.’

The 34-year-old Eastney resident, who used to be a chef, began his weightloss journey again in the summer of 2019 and since then he has managed to lose over 20 stone. His starting weight was 36 stone 8lbs, and he is now 15 stone 6lbs, with a weightloss total of over 21 stone, and he is determined to maintain his healthy weight and stay fit. In order to get down to this weight, Chris had to built his exercise routine up and he had to start with walking 50 yards because of how heavy he was, it majorly impacted his ability to walk long distances.

In March, 2022, he decided to take part in the Walk All Over Cancer for Cancer Research UK, which involved him having to walk 10,000 steps everyday for the entire month. He said that this help him ‘break through’ the barriers that he was facing with his exercise and his weightloss journey truly kicked off at this point.

He added: ‘When I was stuck inside, I used to dream about going for walks outside. I was stuck in a 150-yard circle, I could get to the local shops but I couldn’t get any further.’

He also took part in the one million step challenge for diabetes in 2022, where he was joined by his childhood sweetheart, Mary Bowler, who has also managed to lose an incredible 10 stone.

Last year, he also managed to complete the Great South Run 5k, and he said that this was a milestone for him because when he was 16 and was on one of his weightloss journeys, he managed to complete the full ten miles in one hour and 31 minutes.

He said: ‘The 5k was really symbolic of what I have been through and I finally felt like I got the 16 year weight off of my shoulders.’

For anyone wanting to donate to the fundraiser, click the link.