An overweight engineer told by doctors he would need a kidney transplant if he didn’t lose weight has shed an impressive 10 stone.

Andrew Hembra, from Margate, admits he reached 24 stone from eating too much due to medication he was on and when he wasn’t at work spent much of his time in his armchair.

The 64-year-old, who had a transplant more than 20 years ago due to a kidney condition, received a huge shock when, following a routine blood test, he was told he would end up back on the transplant list.

“I had a kidney transplant in 1998 and I was on steroids so I put on a lot of weight,” he said.

“In 1999 I lost eight stone through Slimming World but I left the group and started to put weight on again as I was eating lots because of the steroids.

“I was going on cruises, eating too much and I wasn’t very active.

“I’d had kidney failure as a child but they’d manage to stop the disease and I lived with my own kidney until I was in my forties, when I had the transplant.

“But my blood results for my kidney were getting worse due to my lifestyle.”

Mr Hembra, of Northdown Park Road, says after the doctor’s warning about needing another transplant, he joined Slimming World again in January 2016 and has never looked back.

“It’s more like a social club, so it’s really enjoyable,” he said.

“I’ve learned to manage and maintain how I eat so now it’s part of my life.

“You get meal ideas from people, you get support.

“Before I went I was a bit shy about going to a group which is predominantly women, but that soon passes.

“I first started going with my wife but she no longer goes as she doesn’t have the weight to lose.”

Mr Hembra, who now weighs 14 stone, says his life has changed and he is is now much healthier – but that he also still gets to enjoy good food and treats.

He doesn’t have to have medication for his blood pressure and has also been told he is no longer at risk of needing another transplant.

“I’m much more active,” he added.

“I did Race for Life earlier this year, I joined a gym, I walk much more – I can now walk up all the stairs at work without feeling like I need an oxygen mask.”

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