![\"Martin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_Martin-collage.jpg\")
Martin Fletcher has shed almost half his body weight after taking up a certain form of yoga(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\nMartin Fletcher shed almost half his body weight in one year without changing his dietMartin Fletcher has shed almost half his body weight after taking up a certain form of yoga(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n
A Liverpool dad has managed to shed almost half his body weight<\/a> following a “mortifying” moment at a family barbecue. Martin Fletcher, 46, who tipped the scales at nearly 26 stone, knew something had to change when the metal chair he was sitting on collapsed from beneath him.<\/p>\n He had been celebrating his nephew’s birthday at his sister’s house at the time<\/a>, and describes the moment as “the main physical turning point” that prompted him to change his life.<\/p>\n Incredibly, Martin did not join any weight loss groups or change what he was eating, and in just 12 months, he lost an impressive 10 stone. Doctors had offered Martin weight-loss injections such as Mounjaro<\/a> or bariatric surgery, but he refused both, and began a certain form of yoga that he claims has “saved his life”.<\/p>\n Martin, from Netherley<\/a>, told the ECHO<\/a>: “By the time your 30s come along, all of a sudden the weight is there and you’re morbidly obese. It became a vicious cycle. Every time I tried to train, I\u2019d get injured.<\/p>\n “I did high intensity workouts and ended up with a limp for eight years. I tried football, damaged my ankles. I was always sore, aching constantly, I was exhausted all the time and I couldn’t play with my kids.”<\/p>\n Martin, a musician, tried to pursue a record deal in his early 20s. But the music industry but was told he was ‘too fat to do music’.<\/p>\n Stung but determined, he lost four stone in just three months. But the weight returned in his 30s, and this time, it was harder to shift. By his early 40s, he was nearly 26 stone and battling a host of physical problems.<\/p>\n He was later diagnosed with severe sleep apnoea, which meant he would stop breathing during sleep.<\/p>\n He said: “I\u2019d wake up sweating, gasping for breath, as if I\u2019d run a marathon in my sleep. I could sleep for ten hours and still feel completely exhausted. It was unbearable.”<\/p>\n Martin\u2019s breakthrough came after watching a former paratrooper’s now-famous transformation video. Arthur Boorman was told he would never walk unassisted again, but he defied the odds using a unique low-impact fitness programme called DDP Yoga.<\/p>\n Developed by former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, DDP Yoga combines yoga, calisthenics, dynamic resistance, and sports rehab techniques into a joint-friendly, high-results workout. It’s designed to be accessible for people of all fitness levels and has gained a huge following for its transformational stories.<\/p>\n Now, Martin wakes up at 5.30am and does an hour of DDP Yoga six days a week, before his busy life as a working musician begins. He now weighs 14 and a half stone – a huge loss of over 10 stone in under a year.<\/p>\n He said: “DDP Yoga is now the only exercise I do. I haven\u2019t changed what I eat, just when I eat, and I’ve kept disciplined.<\/p>\n “Without even leaving the spot, your heart rate’s through the roof. I\u2019m dripping in sweat by the end of the hour. I\u2019ve done no other exercise but that. It’s saved my life.<\/p>\n “I didn\u2019t want my kids to grow up remembering that day at the barbecue as just another point where things got worse. Every single day used to be horrendous, mentally and physically. I was aching, limping, depressed. I didn\u2019t want to become a statistic. I wanted to see my kids thrive, my wife thrive, and myself thrive.<\/p>\n “The only way I was going to lose weight was by getting my mind right and committing to myself. This time, I told myself a better story. I took it each day at a time. If I can not do any particular move on any given day, I focus on being able to do it someday and I kept putting the work in.”<\/p>\n Martin said the most rewarding moment in his journey came from one of his daughters. He said: “She hugged me and said, \u2018Dad, I can get my arms around you now!\u2019”<\/p>\n He is now starting the process to become a certified DDP Yoga instructor, hoping to inspire others the way Arthur Boorman inspired him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Martin Fletcher shed almost half his body weight in one year without changing his dietMartin Fletcher has shed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,62435,456,16,15,734],"class_list":{"0":"post-489774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-netherley","13":"tag-real-lives","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-weight-loss"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115352949621652051","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Martin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Martin-Fletcher-4.jpg\")
Martin before his weight loss(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n![\"Martin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Martin-Fletcher.jpg\")
Martin changed his life because he “didn’t want to become a statistic”(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n![\"He](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_Martin-Fletcher-2.jpg\")
He now weighs 14 and a half stone – a huge loss of over 10 stone in under a year.(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n