With a second daughter on the way, Christopher Wild knew he had to change.
Weighing in at 177kgs, the Upper Hutt corrections officer was too scared to play with his daughter in the playground in fear of it breaking or getting stuck.
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Wild says he was addicted to Xbox, playing six hours a day and would spend $50 a day on McDonald's.
The 28-year-old says he realised it was time to drop the weight he had desperately wanted to lose for at least 10 years.
"I was at the point where I looked up bariatric surgery and prayed every time I was in the shower that something would shift because I was scared of heart attack," Wild told Newshub. "I just wasn't present."
Wild says he was failing at being a hands-on father and husband, and his job was taking a hit.
"I used to be lazy at work, puffed climbing stairs when incidents happened at work. I would be slow to respond because of my fitness."
He decided to ditch the fast food and choose the Isagenix nutrition system as a guide to stay away from foods which were adding to his weight problem.
Isagenix is a couple of meal shakes a day with one standard normal meal each day and a weekly supported cleanse.
Carbohydrates and fried foods were out; meat, eggs and vegetables were in.
Wild also credits his friend, who he says never gave up on him even after inviting him to the gym for months.
"I would always commit but never show up. One day I went and we kept motivating each other. Now we're at a similar fitness level," says Wild.
After failing his last two fitness tests, he nailed his most recent fitness test with high scores.
The father-of-two says hard work and family support have been his driving motivation - as well as proving wrong those who doubted him.
Today Wild weighs in at around 93kgs, and says he feels ashamed but grateful he broke the cycle.
"I have so much energy and I have a better relationship with wife and children."
He says sacrifices he has made are well worth it and encourages others wanting to change to "just do it".
"Join a support community because there's strength in a team. You and your family are worth the effort."
Newshub.
