If John Davies had not lost weight, he wouldn't be alive today. The 49-year- old chef suffered a severe heart attack nearly six weeks ago, but a weight loss programme he had been on for the previous nine weeks was one of the factors that helped him pull through.
Weighing 19 stone, 10 pounds, Davies joined the local Weight Watchers group in Portarlington to lose weight. Over nine weeks, he managed to shed more than two stone through healthy eating and looking after himself.
But the damage he had done through his previous unhealthy lifestyle hit home through a heart attack.
His doctor told him that his healthy diet was a contributory factor in his survival. If he hadn't lost that weight, he probably would have died.
"What helped me was my cholesterol was very good and the reason why my cholesterol was good was because I had been eating well for the past nine weeks. I had been eating very healthy and looking after myself and eating at regular times. I was eating lots of fresh fish and fruit and fresh vegetables," he says.
He spent nine days in intensive care in a coronary care unit, and a further eight days in hospital, losing another nine pounds. He says he is determined to stick to his Weight Watchers programme to get to a more healthy weight.
"I want to get down to about 15 stone," he says. "The doctor said to me when I left Tullamore hospital: 'Right John, you were very poorly when you came in. It's up to you now. If you look after yourself, you'll live until you're 90 and you won't get a heart attack'."
He said his stay in hospital gave him time to reflect on the reasons why he ended up there.
"When you're lying in coronary care, you look back at what happened - why did I have a heart attack and what caused it? And you look at your lifestyle - working 17 hours a day, eating at the wrong times of the day, eating the wrong food, drinking too much and stress because I employ 18 people and the pressure is on you."
He says he is determined to lead a healthier life for his wife and family. "I don't want my children not to have a father," he says.