An 85-year-old man has become a viral sensation after documenting his weight loss journey online.
As you’re probably aware, Instagram is commonly used by celebrities and ‘influencers’ to document their fitness journeys and weight loss – and if we’re being completely honest, it can get a bit tedious.
But all that has changed because of David, a man from Lancashire who has set up his own Instagram page to inform his followers about his Slimming World journey.
Now, you might be thinking only David’s family and close friends will be keeping up to date with his page, but you would be wrong.
In the two months since he set up the account, David has gained 27.7K followers at the time of writing (November 8) and constantly receives messages of support from complete strangers.
And I can’t blame them. The 85-year-old posts regular updates of his progress and manages to look extremely happy in all of them. To be honest, I think we all need some of David’s positivity in our lives.
His first ever post to Instagram was back in September:
Holding a Slimming World book and smiling to the camera, he introduced himself and explained that he started the account in the hope that it would give him the encouragement needed to reach his target weight.
He wrote:
Hello! I’m David , I have been a member of Slimming World for a good few years but after initially losing 2 stone, I have since crept back up to my start weight. My daughters suggested that I start this account after one of them posted a picture of me on her own Slimming World account which received a lot of likes and positive feedback.
And positive feedback he received! With each picture now gaining thousands of likes, people continually comment that he is an ‘inspiration’ and wish him luck on his journey.
And David couldn’t be happier with his new found fame. Only yesterday (November 7) he posted a joyous looking photo holding his hands up in celebration, thanking the 10,000 people who have followed him.
Bear in mind that since then, he has gained a further 17,000 followers in 17 hours and that is only set to increase as he continues to post more photos.
If you think the account may just be another boring weight loss page, think again. David makes sure to post little insights into his life, as well as getting into the festive spirit from time to time.
On Halloween, he couldn’t resist taking a picture wearing a pumpkin headband – which, of course, his followers loved.
Take a look for yourself:
If I’m being honest, his is a much better fancy dress effort than I saw on my Instagram homepage throughout October, so for that alone he’s getting my support.
According to his bio, David has lost 13 lbs so far but intends to lose a further three stone. I think I’m not alone in saying I’m backing him all the way.
We wish him the best of luck in his weight loss journey!
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).