Herefordshire man who shed 11 stone becomes professional boxer

Tobie Vermeire, 31, ditched his “horrendous” previous diet – which would see him scoff two or three pizzas, a fry-up and a Chinese takeaway every day – three years ago.

He now weighs in at 15 stone and is looking to secure his maiden professional bout later this year.

Tobie said he would wash his meals down with tubs of Pringles, ice cream and chocolate – eating around 35 Double Decker bars a week – before realising he had an addiction to food and had to do something about it.

Tobie has become a professional boxer (Image: None)

“I came to terms with the fact I had an addiction to food,” said the former Llandrindod High School pupil, who now lives and trains in Hereford.

“I had a really bad habit. I was eating 10,000 calories a day. My food intake was horrendous. I would always pride myself on how much actual food I could eat in a day.

“I had bad habits and enjoyed bad food. I’d have a big breakfast baguette then a few snacks mid-morning. Then I’d follow it up with two Dominos pizzas for lunch and wash them down with some Pringles and a few Double Deckers.

“Then I’d be having a Chinese or pizza for dinner, a tub of Ben & Jerry’s or a big bar of chocolate. It was the standard really. To me it was the norm.

“I was eating high calorie foods for snacks, I would easily eat 1,000 calories as a snack. It was like an alcoholic drinking a lot of beer. Back then I was also drinking quite a lot.”

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Tobie was a very active sportsman growing up, playing football, rugby and cricket for the high school, as well as rugby briefly for Builth Wells and in goal for his home town club. He was also into motocross and enduro riding, but piled on the weight after leaving school at 16.

He has always been a big boxing fan and saw entering the ring as a way to improve his condition.

Tobie Vermiere previously weighed 26 stone - thanks to a daily calorie intake of 10,000 - including fry-ups, pizzas, Chinese takeaways and chocolate (Image: None)

“I’ve been tee total three years also and knocked pretty much everything on the head to achieve something big,” added Tobie, who believes he is the first person from Llandrindod to become a professional boxer.

And he said his career as an insurance broker helped him in his battle against the bulge.

“I went cold turkey with it," he said. "I treated it like a business plan. I realised I had to do certain things to achieve my goals.

“I’m an insurance broker by trade so the fitness plan was like my job. I did it in a way I could understand and which made it possible to achieve.

“I have always been a boxing fan, but never competed at all in the sport until about three years ago.

“I started out in the amateurs, fighting in UK tournaments, as well as in Sweden. My aim, when I was 26 stone, was to become a pro boxer within three years.

“That was the catalyst and what helped me commit to it. I had to lose all the weight, while also learning one of the toughest sports in the world. I had to learn how to box.

“I was part of a charity boxing event once but had never done it before properly. The levels in amateur boxing are huge. I was boxing GB prospects after just a few fights. I was fighting guys who had been doing it for years, with 50 bouts under their belts.”

Tobie is hoping to secure his maiden pro fight later this year (Image: None)

Tobie has just been granted his pro licence and is looking to land an inaugural bout in the coming months.

“I want to get a Midlands title and potentially an English title,” he said.

“I just want to do well and climb as far as I can. I’m quite late to the game, so I’m not expecting miracles.

"I’m not going to become the best boxer in the world, but I want to go as far as my talent will take me.”