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When Stephen Rutter got his 31 stone frame wedged in a turnstile at a football ground he knew he had to take drastic action. At the time, it took five men a total of ten minutes to free him - three on one side to push and two on the other to pull.
The embarrassing incident occurred in December 2006 when Stephen, 49, was watching his home team Arsenal play an away game at Fulham football ground.His son Adam, 19, was also with him at the time and afterwards, worried about his father's vast bulk, he pleaded with him to lose weight.
It was just the incentive that Stephen needed and six months later he started to diet.After losing an initial five stone he then joined Slimming World and went on to lose a further 12 stone - a total staggering weight loss of 17 stone.
Stephen, who lives in Pewsey, Wiltshire, now weighs a healthy 14 stone and has even started playing football for his local team.He said: "It took getting stuck in the turnstile at the football ground to spur me into action."It was so humiliating for both me and my son and when they finally managed to get me free I knew I had to do something to lose weight".
Stephen began putting on weight after the age of 36 when he was forced to stop playing football due to arthritis in his ankles.He said: "I had to stop playing and I also gave up smoking at the same time. I had an operation on my toe a few months later and I had to spend the next six weeks with my feet up, so the weight just started to pile on".
Stephen soon weighed a massive 31 stone and had a waist size of 67 inches.For breakfast he would have a full fried breakfast, which included four eggs, four sausages and four slices of bacon.He would then eat his way through a stack of ten sandwiches during the day and finish with three pizzas or three Chinese takeaways for dinner.
Due to his size, when attending football games to cheer on his favourite club Arsenal at their local ground he would have to use a wider entrance meant for disabled people.He said: "I could hardly walk more than a few yards at a time without having to sit down.
"Luckily when I went to watch the football matches the club would let me use the entrance for disabled people, which meant that I didn't have to squeeze through the turnstiles."I would always make sure I got there early so I could get up the steps before the crowds started".
However, in December 2006 Stephen attended an away game at Fulham football ground and had to use the ordinary turnstile to get in.He became stuck halfway through because of his enormous weight and had to call for help.
He said: "It was awful. It took five men to get me out. I had three men pushing at me and two on the other side pulling at me."It took ten minutes before they eventually managed to free me. I had an enormous bruise down the front of my chest the following day from where I had been trapped.
"I felt sorry for Adam who was with me as it was so embarrassing; the crowd behind me waiting to get in kept chanting at me about my weight".
After the incident Stephen vowed to lose weight and six months later he started to diet.He said: "Adam was very worried about me, especially after what had happened at the football ground."He was desperate for me to lose weight and I didn't want to get stuck again like that so I decided I had to".
Stephen managed to lose five stone over the next six months before, in January last year, joining his local Slimming World group.
From then on he lost another 12 stone over the next nine months and in October he hit his target weight of 14 stone 9oz.In the process he also halved the size of his waist - going from 67 to 34 inches.He said: "I feel incredibly healthy now - it's given me a completely new lease of life.
"Just before I hit my target weight I even joined the local football club and now I play games for them."I've gone from not being able to walk more than a few yards at a time to running about on the football pitch."Best of all, now I can kick a football around with Adam who is really proud of me. It would have killed me before if I'd tried to kick a football.
"When I did actually manage to get into my seat to watch a football match no one could sit next to me because I was so huge."Now I can run up the steps no problem - and I can slip easily through the turnstiles too".