A 26-stone dad has achieved an astonishing weight loss, shedding nearly half his body weight after an embarrassing incident with a helicopter. Dan Shilling, a 39 year old offshore electrical technician and dad of two, admitted he had consistently struggled with being "overweight". However, his weight peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic when he hit the 26st 1lbs (166kg) mark. Standing at six feet tall, Dan said he could not fly in a helicopter to his offshore rig because of strict weight restrictions, earning him the moniker "Big Dan" among his colleagues and mates. His decision to transform his lifestyle was spurred by a moment at work, where walking merely 50 metres left him sweating and gasping for breath. Prompted by this wake-up call, he joined Man v Fat sessions available through his local football club. Since January 2024, Dan has impressively lost 10st 9lbs (68kg) and currently tips the scales at 15st 6lbs (98kg). Not only has his weight significantly reduced but his clothing size has also gone from a 4XL to XL, in addition to shedding 10 inches off his waistline. He said he feels "loads better" and can now be a better partner to his girlfriend Emma and father to his two children – Betsy, five, and Elsie, four months. Dan said: "I've actually got a folder on my phone, I've got an album called Fat Me. "Looking back at everything from then to now, you realise how far you've come. "It's unbelievable. I still can't believe it myself." Dan said he was "always bigger" during his teenage years, and although he played sports such as rugby, football, and squash, he struggled with his weight. "I wouldn't say I was fat as such, but I was always overweight," he said. "When I started working properly, I grew into my body, but I was still overweight." During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dan was working on an oil platform west of the Shetland Islands and travelling to Aberdeen, meaning he was often away from home. While offshore, he ate the self-serve meals provided, which included a full English breakfast, bacon rolls, lasagne for lunch, biscuits and cake in the afternoon, and shepherd's pie or steak for dinner. He said his exercise was "non-existent" and his weight gradually increased – although he did not realise it at the time. "While I'm offshore, if you don't eat at that time, you don't eat as such, so you feel like you have to," he said. "I didn't realise how big I was getting and, even though we weigh in – each time you come offshore, you weigh in because they need it for the helicopter weights – I wasn't registering that it was creeping up." During this time, his partner Emma lost her father to cancer and Dan said he was subjected to workplace bullying. He said "everything that could go wrong was going wrong" and his mental health deteriorated. "Being a typical man, instead of talking about my issues I spiralled and tried to find comfort in food, which led me to piling on the weight and becoming an unpleasant person," he said. At this point, Dan said he was still eating the meals at work, along with 1,200-calorie Marabou chocolate bars every night, and he reached his heaviest weight of 26st 1lbs (166kg). After Emma told him "a few home truths", Dan visited his GP and was diagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants. "I wasn't really there, I was just existing," he said. In 2023, Dan found another job on a gas platform in the East Irish Sea, flying out of Blackpool. With this new job his mood lifted and he was "generally happier", but he said his weight became an issue and he was regularly being left behind because of helicopter weight limits. "Where I'm working, we fly out each day and they have to be able to carry a certain amount of fuel, they call it the payload," he explained. "If I'm sat in the helicopter weighing 160 kilos, that's quite a lot of weight for the helicopter to have to carry, so I would quite often get left behind because I was the easy one to knock off the list." One day in December 2023, Dan said he was going offshore and "pouring with sweat and out of breath", walking just 50 metres from the terminal building to the helicopter. He said he found it difficult to fasten his seat belt in the helicopter and, at this point, he thought: "This is enough." He then signed up to Man v Fat Football Norwich West and the Couch to 5K programme and committed to changing his life from January 2024 onwards. About 8,500 men currently take part at more than 150 Man v Fat Football clubs across the UK. "I made a promise to myself that I would no longer be the heaviest person on the team," Dan said. Dan also started counting his calories and monitoring his portions at work, and he focused on increasing his daily step count. Within the first three months, he said he lost 3st 4lbs (21kg) and, to date, he has lost nearly 11 stone. Dan now weighs about 15st 6lbs (98kg) and is able to wear clothes from when he was 20 years old again. "I've still got some clothes from back then and I'm now wearing them again," he said. "I haven't had to buy a new wardrobe because I've still got my old one." Dan has also taken up running and he plans to take part in the Rome Marathon 2026 to celebrate turning 40. While he still enjoys sweet treats and fast-food on occasion, he now has a healthier lifestyle and is no longer taking antidepressants. Asked for his advice to others, he said: "Just stick to the basics – calories in versus calories out. That's all I've done. "I'd be happy eating a KFC as long as I go for a run to cancel it out and I've got the calories spare." Dan has been selected for Man v Fat Football's annual Amazing Losers match, which this year takes place at Leyton Orient's home ground in Brisbane Road, east London, on May 23. To find out more, visit: manvfat.com/football Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE