A dad who was mortified by a picture taken at his son’s graduation has lost 180lbs and says his new diet saves him $2k-a-month on groceries. Justin Dudley, 48, tipped the scales at 343lbs (24st 5lbs) and a size XXXXL at his heaviest after years of carb-loading took a toll.
A self-confessed fast food addict, Justin always followed every meal with dessert – and says he’d spend $2k-a-month on ice cream, chips and candy – which he now refuses to touch. However, in April 2024, the single dad-of-one decided enough was enough with his son, Ethan, 18, was graduating high school.
Not wanting to “cringe” and any photos taken on the special day, Justin created a strict meal plan which included extreme calorie counting and intermittent fasting. In the first month, he lost 22lbs (1st 5lbs) and by June 2024, Justin had lost a further 20lbs.
On 15 June 2024, graduation day, Justin “still cringed” at photos taken but it didn’t stop him from sticking to his diet and regular at-home exercises and he’s since lost a total of 180lbs. Justin now eats the same meals he started out with – including kale and chicken soup and tuna salad on rye bread – does 400 crunches a day and “loves clothes shopping” as he sports a size medium.
Justin, an information technician, from Central Maine, US, said: “I always hated having my photo taken and if I had to be in a group picture, I always tended to hang in the background. But I wanted to make my son proud for his special day.
“I still felt embarrassed when having my photo taken but I knew I still had a lot of work to do. My son has always been my main motivation, and now half the man I was.
“I can now see my feet – I haven’t been able to see them in years. I save thousands a month that would’ve been spent on junk that was putting me into an early grave.
“Ethan says he doesn’t see a physical change in me but also a mental – I’m getting back to the outgoing person I used to be. When he tells me how proud he is of me, it means the world.”
Struggling with his weight all his life through comfort eating, Justin decided to take back control in April 2024 – before his son, Ethan, graduated in June. After losing his dad, Bruce Dudley, aged 65, to colon cancer the month before in March 2024, Justin went on a strict 1,200-calorie-per-day meal plan.
The recommended daily calorie intake for the average man is 2,500 calories. Drinking water or black tea throughout the day and allowing just one meal for dinner – either kale and chicken soup or tuna salad on rye bread – Justin soon saw the weight fall off.
Losing an average of 22lbs (1st 5lbs) a month, by Ethan’s graduation in June, he was down to 299 lbs (21st 3lbs). “Ethan told me how proud he was of me but I still felt conscious of my weight,” Justin said.
“Both factors help drive me to stick to my diet. I have a large step downstairs in my house which I use to do exercise on with music. Having a home workout meant I had no excuses to work out every day but I didn’t have to go to a gym where I’d feel embarrassed.”
Justin now weighs 163lbs (11st 6lbs) wears a men’s size medium and “feels like a new man”. He said: “I look back at old pictures and can’t believe how far I’ve come. It’s all purely through the willpower to make a change in my life. Losing my dad hit me hard, I didn’t want Ethan to lose me prematurely.
“I’m now looking to travel – something I couldn’t do before – and I’d like to explore my English heritage with a trip to the UK. I’m coming out of my shell and I’m out in the real world now.
“Before my dad passed he told me not to live with regrets or to postpone anything for tomorrow. That has stuck with me, and now I am trying to live life with no regrets.”
Diet before
Breakfast: two McDonald’s bacon, egg and cheese breakfast biscuit sandwiches, 2 hash browns
Lunch: Wendy’s Double Cheeseburger, large french fries, 6 chicken nuggets
Dinner:16-inch Pepperoni Pizza, 10 hot buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dressing, and a steak and cheese six-inch sub sandwich
Snacks: A couple of pastries, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Drinks: orange juice and Dr. Pepper
Spending $1,600-$2,400 per month
Diet after
Intermittent fasting until 6 pm
Dinner: Kale, carrot and chicken soup with Cape Cod chips or Tuna salad on rye bread or crinkle-cut fries loaded with kale, jalapenos, canned beans and Frank’s Hot Sauce
Drinks: Water and black tea
Spending $300 per month
