NSW man reveals how he lost 157kg and his goals for the future

A man who weighed 270kg and said he was “waiting to die” has revealed how he calimed his life back and transformed his outlook.

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A man who weighed 270kg has revealed he was essentially waiting to die as his weight climbed but a sudden light bulb moment helped him claim his life back.

Dane Lyons was anywhere between 260kg and 270kg at the age of 24, and he knew he could either wait for death or do something about it.

It had been eight years of continuously stacking on the weight after spending his youth as an active child. But, at 16, his body started changing dramatically, and that was only amplified when he started drinking.

The warehouse co-ordinator told news.com.au that one point, he was drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels every night.

Dane weighed more than 260kg at 24 years old. Picture: Supplied

“I was essentially just drinking myself into the grave,” he said, adding he was having thoughts of suicide and his heart stopped at least two or three times every day.

His family, particularly his mum, raised concerns about his weight, but he was stubborn.

“You can have 100 people tell you need to change but unless you actively want to change you never will,” he said.

But, a comment from his wife’s mother when the couple were only a year into dating really “hit him for six”.

“I was in the kitchen and my mother-in-law and I were chatting, and she asked if I want to be with her daughter forever,” he recalls.

“And I was like ‘yeah, why’ and then she asked if I wanted to have kids and I said ‘yes’ and she pretty much said ‘well, are you going to do anything about your weight?’

He started putting on weight at 16. Picture: Supplied

“And I said ‘no’, I was happy - but obviously I wasn’t. Then she asked what the plan was when my kids are three and five years old and they’re wondering where their dad has gone.

“It was like getting hit by Mike Tyson in his prime. It hit me for six and I realised she wasn’t wrong.”

It wasn’t long after that conversation that the now 27-year-old realised he needed to do something about his weight.

He quit drinking and cut out fast food from his diet, as well as starting to try a dieting drink called the ‘Man Shake’ as he’d seen his dad have success on it.

He ended up losing 80kg naturally and kept that off until he travelled Australia and put about half of it back on.

After the trip, he knew he needed some help if he was going to make a real life change so in March 2023, he opted to get the gastric sleeve surgery as a tool to help him reach his goal.

Dane has lost 157kg. Picture: Supplied

“The sleeve has been a lot harder than losing the weight naturally. I got the sleeve done and started tracking my macros to the absolute tee,” he said.

“And when I got to the 160kg mark I buckled down on the protein and training.”

He started to see physique come in and, because he had a background in powerlifting, thought he may have a chance of getting into bodybuilding.

Dane discovered there was a transformational category and vowed to be the best transformational bodybuilder in the country.

His training style is called the ‘Bro Split’, which is essentially targeting one muscle group each day of the week. The 27-year-old trains between two to three hours a day, also adding in cardio, aiming to burn 150 calories doing this.

He is now working towards being a transformational bodybuilder. Picture: Supplied

Dane’s work is physical and he aims to hit 12,000 steps every day and two days a week he swims. Soon, he will also start riding his bike to the gym.

He explained he couldn’t have taken part in this journey without support, particularly from his mother and his wife.

“It has been challenging, to say the least, to get to where I am now but I’ve got the best support circle on earth,” he said.

Dane wants to share his journey to help others. Picture: Supplied

With a dramatic transformation like Dane’s, who is now sitting at 106kg, it’s not uncommon to have loose skin.

“I have to get a leg, body and chest lift done. They’re all huge surgeries and come with a large price tag,” he said.

“But, in all honestly, as much as I’ve changed I’d rather have the loose skin, even 10 times worse, than be that size again.”

Dane’s first bodybuilding competition is in October, and he wants to share his story to help others like him.