A Thorpe Hamlet father of three said he was too embarrassed to go swimming with his sons after years of quick fix meals and junk food on the go.

But after losing three stone, Thomas Butler says his relationship with his sons, Tommy, five, Callum, 13, and TJ, 15, is a 'million times better' and he can now do 'dad things dads do'.

Weighing in at 16st 3lbs just eight months ago, Mr Butler, 40, decided to kick his unhealthy eating habits and set himself a goal – to lose three stone.

And now he's been named Thorpe Hamlet's Slimming World Man of the Year, and said: 'I can honestly say that I feel like a different man.'

Mr Butler joined his Slimming World group in Thorpe Hamlet in February this year and he hasn't eaten a quarter pounder since.

He said: 'I hated being overweight. I'd go to the swimming pool with my son and hated being looked at for being a larger dad.

'I wanted to run around the park and play football with my son, without getting out of breath.'

And on being the only man in the slimming class when he first started, he said: 'It was great because they would give me tips and suggest recipes to me. There are more men in the group now, but at the first meeting I was the only one.' In this short time, the London resource manager has dropped three trousers sizes, with a simple combination of balanced and healthy meals.

Mr Butler said he spends hours commuting every day and would often find himself grabbing a quick meal or indulging in business lunches with his colleagues.

He said: 'Before, I would just have a bacon roll for breakfast. I'd go out for lunch with the lads or to McDonald's or Burger King. Now, I'm happy with couscous and roasted vegetables. I took my sons to McDonald's recently, and although it was really hard to say no to it, I did.'

Mr Butler started on the group's Food Optimising eating plan, which meant he could still eat hearty meals while the pounds dropped off.

He said: 'You don't go hungry. It's about healthy eating, and man-sized portions of healthy food, not fads and gimmicks. Now I cook for the family and make our favourite meals in a low fat way, so we can still have curries, Chinese and roast dinners.'