Westmeath resident who once weighed 27 and a half stone has outlined his incredible weight loss journey

A Westmeath who once weighed 27 and a half stone has outlined his incredible weight loss journey which began when he started training at CrossFit Cú Chulainn in Monksland three years ago. 

Peter Burns has now shed an amazing eight stone, and his progress was documented in a video made by The CrossFit Journal. 

The father of two, who is originally from England and lives in Monksland, speaks in the video about how - at his heaviest - he was too embarrassed to be pictured in family photos. 

"I actually had to go out to a pet shop that's in town here and weigh myself on that because they had a scales big enough that could register my weight," he said.  

"I was on a downward spiral... my confidence was so low.

"I was paranoid that people were talking about me, looking at me, laughing at me. I didn't go out anywhere.

"I didn't do anything. I had to buy all my clothes online."

All of this started to change when he joined CrossFit Cú Chulainn. 

Peter praised the great work owner Martin Hickey has done with him and the other members. 

"The encouragement and support from Martin and the guys in the gym... they push me to be better than I think I am," he said.

In addition to interviews with Peter, the video features contributions from his 11-year-old daughter Viktoria, his friend Toni Duncan, and CrossFit Cú Chulainn representatives Martin Hickey and Katrina Shine. 

You can watch Peter's story here: