ENTREPRENEUR James Tilley went from fat to fit after dropping six and a half stone as a teenager to join the Marines.

Mr Tilley, 24, admits himself that he used to be the fat kid at school but through an overhaul of diet and exercise, is now an Instagram star followed by 11,000 people keen to find out his diet secrets.

Aged 16, Mr Tilley weighed 17st, regularly eating more than 5,000 calories a day including takeaway pizzas for lunch while studying at Devizes School.

Mr Tilley said: “I struggled with my weight when I was younger and I was one of those people who wouldn’t step into a gym.

“I comfort ate and that just makes you feel worse about yourself.”

After being inspired to join the marines by his stepfather, the teenager dropped six and a half stone in just three months to join the Marines, which he served in for four years.

The Devizes-born marine cadet turned businessman has now opened Sui Generis gym in Woodborough, Pewsey, designed to help others feel good about themselves.

He revealed the emotional impact that overeating had on his mental health.

“When I was younger I was reasonably depressed and then with the forces there was stress, so I found the gym was a place where I could get away to take my mind off things,” he said.

“When I joined the military it changed my life and my mindset became about getting fit and how to keep the weight off.

“Sometimes personal training feels like half training and half the time a counselling service. It helps because I know where some of my clients are coming from.

“I had one client who had read about my own transformation and he said he was the same when he was younger. He was always overweight and it was great that I could relate to him.”

Sui Generis can be found in Unit C of Nursery Farm.