Reality bites for supersize Stefan
A REALITY TV show has opened a door to a new life for a supersized man from Northern Ireland wh olived "under his quilt".
At 36, milkman Stefan Ginesi is starting an existence "that should have started at 18" after shedding three stone following a five-day stint on the Channel 4 show Supersize vs Superskinny.
The heaviest person to appear on the show at 37 stone, Stefan from Lisburn now plays football instead of eating pizza and chips and is determined to take his life back and maybe even find love.
"I don't want to live under my quilt anymore," Stefan told the News Letter yesterday after reflecting on a life isolated since childhood, always labelled the "big kid in school".
A self-confessed "carb junkie" Stefan said food was his retreat, or his "best friend" but that his problem really began to spiral out of control when his early-morning milk rounds coincided with bakeries' early starts.
"I'm up every morning at 3am and I was there at the bakeries eating sausage rolls and buns and eating this constantly. It wasn't until I wrote it all down that I couldn't believe I was eating over 8,000 calories every day."
A chance perusal of a newspaper was the break Stefan had been waiting for after decades of failed dieting.
"There was an advert asking 'are you over 25 stones and do you want to change your life' and I certainly ticked those boxes," he said.
Sharing a "fancy apartment" last November with a six-stone woman whose life was also controlled by food, Stefan said he had to adopt her restricted diet of brazil nuts, rice and "raw garlic with every single meal".
The emotional rollercoaster Stefan rode during those five days meant he was "never actually hungry" despite the sudden and drastic reduction in his food intake.
"I had to deal with the emotional issues that I had kept locked away for years and had to look them right in the eye," he said.
A team of doctors, psychiatrists and others who had been through the same thing helped ease Stefan through the traumatic time.
"I've lost three stone now through a sensible eating plan and my usual 8,500 calories a day have been cut to 3,000," he said.
"And I even played football recently for the first time ever, badly, but it was absolutely brilliant.
"I'm there mentally now and I want to live. I want to experience what everyone else does.
"I want someone to tell me they love me every night and share my life with someone.
"I don't want to live under my quilt anymore."
Stefan Ginesi's poignant story will appear on Channel 4's Supersize vs Superskinny on Tuesday, February 12, at 8pm, presented by Dr Christian Jessen.
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Monday 28 May 2012
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