'I was too fat to drive, now I've finished six triathlons and three marathons'

A man who was too fat to fit behind the steering wheel of his car after reaching almost 40st eating 6,000 calories a day has shed more than half his body weight and become a triathlete. James Baker, 38, was bursting out of a size XXXXXXL at his heaviest and was forced to swap cars with his girlfriend, after he could no longer fit in his Vauxhall Astra.

It proved to be the kickstart James needed and in September 2022 he underwent a gastric sleeve - surgery that removes a significant portion of the stomach leading to reduced intake to promote weight loss. James took up exercise – started walking, cycling and swimming – and swapped his junk food and high calorie diet for healthier high protein meals and in 14 months lost 19st 7lbs - and now weighs a much healthier 18st 7lbs and can slip into a size XL with ease.

With his waist shrinking from 60ins to 38ins, James continued on his fitness journey and completed his first triathlon - a multi-sport endurance race involving swimming, cycling, and running - in May 2023. Despite coming in last place, James said it was "one of the best things I ever did" and has gone on to do six Olympic distance triathlons, as well as three marathons.

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He has finally been able to take back ownership of his faithful Vauxhall Astra and is eager to compete in his next competition, the Cotswold 51 Five in May 2026. Dad-of-four James, an IT consultant, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, said: "I've always been a bit bigger than my peers.

"As I got into adult life it spiralled a little bit. At the end of 2022, I got up to being 38st. I had to swap cars with my partner. For me really the whole car thing, not being able to get in the car, I thought if this carries on I’m not going to be around for my children much longer.

“That was the real big catalyst realising I couldn’t get into the car without having to breathe in and tuck myself in the steering wheel. I've got two children of my own and two step-kids. They're young and it got to the point where playing with them became difficult because of my size.

"I couldn't buy clothes in shops, and the clothes I was buying online were becoming more difficult to find because of the size I was”.

James researched procedures and decided to undergo the gastric sleeve surgery in May 2023 – flying to Cairo, Egypt and paying £5,000 for the procedure funded through personal savings. He said: "I had my surgery in September 2022 and in the May of 2023 I did an Olympic distance triathlon with a friend of mine, Aaron Gwilt, 38 who did a lot of endurance stuff already. I can honestly say it was one of the best things I ever did”.

James was going to work as an IT consultant one morning when he began to struggle getting in and out of his car. After requesting help with his weight through the NHS, he was put into a year-long weight management clinic before he could qualify for weight loss surgery.

James did not meet the required body fat loss on the course to qualify for a gastric sleeve, and says he “didn’t feel I’d learned anything to teach me about nutrition”. Looking elsewhere, James booked a gastric sleeve in Cairo, Egypt, in September 2022 for £5,000, flying out with a friend and his boss at the time to have the surgery together.

After spending five days in Egypt for the op, James began the quick recovery at home and started transforming his diet. He was only allowed to have clear fluid for a while, then pureed food, then food to be mashed, solid foods 8-12 weeks. Gorging on fast food and even having a snack drawer in the office, James would eat up to 6,000 calories every day, eating crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks at work before going to fast food restaurants on his way home.

He said: "Before I would eat things like McDonald's and Burger King quite often. I would wake up and think 'I'll have a Burger King today'. I'd find a way of having it, even if it might mean driving out of my way so I could have it.

"I'd then get home and eat a second dinner with my family. I'd constantly be reaching for snacks and comfort foods before bed like crisps chocolate bars and cakes. There would be times when we’d be watching the TV and if we didn’t have anything in, I’d drive to the shops for a chocolate bar.

“But it wouldn’t be a normal size one, it would be a share size. Now if I'm training first thing in the morning I'll go for a run or a training session. Breakfast is something along the lines of granola and yoghurt.

"I generally then don’t eat until later in the afternoon. That will be things like one or two eggs with a slice of toast, or a small jacket potato with a filling. In the evening I'll have my dinner but again it consists of something protein based like diced chicken with tikka paste in a pitta bread.

"Quite often my evening snack is what is left from dinner as I don't eat it all."

After coming last place in his first triathlon, James caught the bug and joined his local club two years ago. He said: "As I was running down the finishing line they were packing up around me. I've since progressed to middle distance.

"I did the Manchester marathon in 2024. In total I've done six Olympic distance triathlons. My family been amazing to be honest. The other day I had a training run I needed to do and my son was also going to train, he wanted to do a run.

“Being able to do something like that, I’d never have been able to do before. Things like going to the park, when I was bigger I’d have to stop and need places to sit down. Sometimes I have to slow down and wait for other people where as before I was the one having to stop”.