A former takeaway addict who would get through two fast meals a night has transformed his physique by shedding 4st 5lbs and is now planning to study for a doctorate in obesity at Leeds University.
Student Dominic O’Connor, 23, from Derbyshire ballooned to 17st 5lbs after developing bad eating habits while he spent a year on crutches after a rugby injury.
He’d start the day with a fry up for breakfast, dine on pasta or chips for lunch and have a takeaway pizza or fried chicken for dinner – or sometimes both if he’d been out drinking, which happened as many as five times a week.
But when he felt too embarrassed to take his shirt off on the beach during a year abroad in Hong Kong, he vowed to change and has now slimmed down to 13 stone and takes part in fitness contests.
Dominic O’Connor, 23, from Derbyshire piled on the pounds, reaching 17st 5lbs at his heaviest after developing bad eating habits – including two takeaways a night – while recovering from a rugby injury (pictured on holiday in Cancun, Mexico)
Dominic competing in the Muscle & Athletic Sports Society’s Student Physique Championships in Bristol in March 2018. He’s also preparing to study for a PhD in obesity and appetite
As a teenager, sporty Dominic played as a prop for England under 16s, before suffering an injury.
‘I’ve always been a bigger guy as playing rugby throughout my teenage years meant I ate a lot to keep my bulk,’ he recalled.
‘Following a ligament injury, I was on crutches for a year but still eating a lot, so I began to pile on the weight.
‘At University I was drinking beers, shots and alcopops most nights followed by fried chicken takeaways and cheap sharing pizza deals which I ate to myself.’
Student Dominic pictured in his late teens when his party lifestyle and love of alcopops and takeaways made him pile on weight (left). He’s since overhauled his lifestyle and competed in the Muscle & Athletic Sports Society’s Student Physique Championships in Bristol in March 2018
Dominic as a teenager when he started studying at Leeds University and piled on the pounds while he recovered from a rugby injury (left) and now, after ditching takeaways and hitting the gym on a daily basis
As the weight piled Dominic couldn’t walk up stairs to lectures without getting out of breath.
‘It took going to Hong Kong to study a year abroad to realise that my lifestyle was very toxic and was damaging my health,’ he said.
‘Seeing shirtless people on the beach sunning themselves without a care in the world, I compared them to myself, hiding away in baggy T shirts with absolutely no confidence to take my shirt off in the heat.
‘I started hitting the gym hard daily, doing cardio and weight training and cooking balanced meals from scratch, being mindful of my portion size.’
He cut out alcohol and using MuscleFood.com deliveries for his meat and for healthy versions of his takeaway favourites such as the high protein pizza.
Over the course of two years, he dropped 4st 5lbs to 13 st and is now preparing to do a PhD in Appetite and Obesity.
‘I feel so much better in myself now after losing the weight – not only do I look and feel so much better in clothes, but I am more confident in person and have energy and self-motivation.
After vowing to overhaul his lifestyle, Dominic started hitting the gym on a daily basis, doing a combination of cardio and weight training
From flabby to fit: Dominic now wants to use his journey to inspire and help others to achieve their weight-loss goals
‘I hope to inspire others in their weight loss journey to carry on and reach their targets not just for the physical benefits but for the mental ones and I look forward to my PhD studies so that I can delve into the psychology of it all further.
‘After seeing such great changes in my own body and life as a result of losing weight, I want to inspire and help others. But not just on a small scale, I want to encourage widespread change.
‘The best method of doing this is by informing government policy and health campaigns through my research.
Dominic pictured in his late teens when he was living a party lifestyle and weighed more than 17 stone (left). Student Dominic from Derbyshire in the gym earlier this year, preparing for a fitness contest
‘I want to become a leading authority on the topics of appetite and obesity, so I can help our society be healthier.’
‘If I could give advice to others, I would say not to care what others think. Exercise for you and you will reap the benefits. My outlook in life is very different now and I’m thankful every day that I stuck at my weight loss.’
To see more of Dominic’s fitness journey follow him on Instagram @domfituk
Dominic pictured working out in the gym earlier this year. He admits that since losing weight he feels much healthier and his confidence has also taken a huge boost