‘IT'S HARD TO FIGHT THE FOOD MONSTER'

He shed 220kg for his wedding, then gained 60kg in lockdown. Now he’s losing again

- CYRIL BLACKBURN

AT HIS heaviest, he couldn’t fit through a doorway without turning sideways. At work he had to enter the building through the double doors meant for wheelchair users and everywhere he went he had to carry along his own special chair to support his weight.

For years, Rudolph Wolker was deeply ashamed of his body and at his heftiest, he tipped the scales at a whopping 320kg.

Yet over the course of 18 months, he lost a staggering 220kg. By eating healthily and getting moderate exercise, Rudolph managed to sustain his weight for a year.

But then the hard lockdown hit in March last year and he gained more than 60kg in a matter of months.

“Just like before, I was disgusted with the image in the mirror – and I was furious with myself,” Rudolph (41) tells YOU.

By late last year he recommitted himself to losing the lockdown love handles. And it’s working! He’s shed 20kg and now weighs just over 140kg.

The prison guard from Potchefstroom has come a long way from the man who used to consume up to 20 two-litre bottles of fizzy cooldrink a week.

Three years ago, doctors predicted he wouldn’t make it to 40. He had heart problems, his blood pressure was perilously high and he was on chronic pain medication just to be able to walk on his swollen legs.

His 10XL shirts and size 60 pants had to be custom-made – and the taunts and stares from strangers were mortifying.

“I knew I was killing myself with food,” Rudolph says.

“But every time I was down, I’d simply reach for food again.”