The warning signs that Nick Drane’s weight was becoming dangerously high had been building for years.
By his late 30s, the father of two weighed 23st 7lb and could “easily finish” a KFC family feast by himself — 16 pieces of fried chicken and six portions of heavily salted chips.
In Ipswich, Suffolk, his local kebab shop had even created a special order for him: a 3XL mixed kebab loaded with extra chips, cheese and mayonnaise.
But the moment Nick realised his health had seriously deteriorated was triggered not by his eating, but by his drinking.
In late August 2020, a friend pointed out that he had consumed “well over a case” of beer.
Nick, however, realised he did not feel drunk at all — a sign of a high alcohol tolerance, which studies have associated with obesity.
As he looked at the empty cans scattered around him, Nick remembers thinking: “This is going to kill me.”
Nick Drane went from 23st 7lb (left) to 16st (right) after building a daily 30-minute cycle into his routine
That realisation prompted him to make a change, although he began with a small and manageable goal.
He committed to riding his exercise bike for 30 minutes every day throughout September.
More than six years later, he has kept going. Remarkably, the daily exercise routine helped him lose a third of his body weight, bringing him down to 16st.
Today, Nick says he feels “transformed”.
“I think I’ll probably cycle for 30 minutes on the bike every day for the rest of my life,” he says.
“I’m way happier, I’m a better dad, I’m a better husband and I’m a far better basketball coach.”
Nick said his “horrendous” relationship with food began during childhood, when he gained a reputation for being able to eat enormous quantities.
“I remember going to a barbecue when I was really young and saying to my mum that I wasn’t hungry,” he recalls.
“But they brought out extra food because the new people I was meeting had been told how much Nick eats.”
Nick said he felt he “had to live up to that, so I did it”.
At 17, he began playing basketball at National League level before moving to Canada as a student athlete to pursue a university basketball career.
At 6ft 4in, Nick says he weighed around 16st at the time, while continuing to pay attention to his diet and exercise regularly.
However, when his playing career failed to take off, he returned to the UK aged 20 and focused on coaching.
Working irregular hours meant takeaways became a regular convenience and, over time, his diet and exercise slipped down his list of priorities.
As the years passed, his eating habits spiralled.
At his heaviest, Nick would frequently start the day with three takeaway breakfast baps, each containing two sausages, two fried eggs, cheese and onions.
At his heaviest (left) Nick said he would easily consume more than 4,000 calories a day
He’d then wash it down with a mocha with caramel, cream and two sugars.
For lunch, he would eat ‘two or three’ sandwiches and a sharing bag of crisps before tucking into a Big Mac meal, 20 chicken nuggets, a double cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake from McDonald’s for dinner.
Even home-cooked meals became excessive.
When the family had a roast dinner, Nick would eat a whole chicken by himself, while his wife and two children shared another.
He says he would easily eat more than 4,000 calories a day, around 60 per cent higher than the NHS’s average recommended daily intake of 2,500 for men.
And on a night out, drinking 15 pints of lager was done ‘like it was nothing’, despite that being more than 3,000 calories in itself.
That conversation with his friend in August 2020 proved to be a turning point.
Promising to ride an exercise bike for 30 minutes a day was daunting but Nick said he still thought of himself as ‘a pretty good athlete’ despite his weight.
As a rule of thumb, the NHS says ‘adults should do some type of physical activity every day.’
The health service recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week for 19 to 64-year-olds.
This can be done in the form of cycling for 30 minutes a day over five days, while other activities include a brisk walk, playing sports and dancing.
When the pounds began coming off quickly, Nick was inspired to continue with the plan.
Nick now completes 100 full-body press-ups every day in four sets of 25 as well as lifting weights at the gym
‘I did it for a week and I think I got on the scales and realised I’d lost four or five kilos (up to 11lbs) quite quickly,’ he said.
Nick is remarkably dedicated to the workout.
‘Even when I lost my father or a couple of very dear people in my life, I still get on the bike,’ he said.
‘I’ve been on it when I’ve had Covid and when I’ve had sickness and diarrhoea. I’ve even been throwing up on the bike.
He has only missed training when the gym has been closed on bank holidays, making up the time by cycling for an extra 30 minutes the day before or after.
Since 2021, he has also overhauled his diet, cutting back sharply on takeaways and alcohol and reducing his intake to around 2,500 calories a day.
Breakfast consists of water and a smoothie made with spinach, banana, protein powder, creatine and Greek yoghurt.
At lunch, he keeps it simple, generally opting for chicken and rice, before finishing his day off with an omelette in the evening.
Nick now weighs 16st (102kg) and wears 34in-waist trousers, down from 42in six years ago.
‘Other than being a good dad and a good husband, taking care of myself is the most important thing in my life,’ he said.
‘It’s just transformed me.’
