The instruction from his daughter was blunt and to-the-point, "Right, fat lad, we are going," but David Lloyd received it loud and clear.

"Emma wanted me to go along to slimming classes with her," he recalls. "She had put on two stones while pregnant, and she knew that I was keen to lose weight too."

He adds: "I had thought about it before but not done anything about it."

David, 50, weighed almost 19st. He had tried to lose weight in the past. "I lost 2st ten years ago after enrolling at a slimming class, but later put it back on."

The electrician saw the opportunity presented by Emma, 28, as a second chance. "I was not worried about going. Based on my previous experience, I thought I'd be the only man."

To his surprise, when he started classes with Weight Watchers near his home in Low Moor, he found he wasn't the sole male, but one of three.

David found changing his diet and lifestyle easy. "I tried to eat more sensibly, eating meals three times a day and cutting out snacks such as healthy' oat bars packed with calories.

"I started exercising more, walking every morning before going to work. I would set out at 6am and walk for an hour, covering about four miles."

Within weeks he began to feel fitter and healthier. He stuck to the Weight Watchers system of points, yet found he did not miss out. "I ate many of the same things, but ate less," he says. "It is about controlling the portions."

And Emma, who weighed 12st when the pair joined the group, was there to encourage him.

"Because he was there I had to behave myself. I knew she would report me if I wasn't doing things properly."

Just two years after starting, David's weight had fallen to 14lb 12st, not far off his goal weight of 13st. Emma lost 2st 7lb and is also thrilled.

David says the support of his family has been instrumental in helping him to lose weight. "Their understanding really helped me. It would have been no good having people around me eating Mars bars and chips."

He adds: "My wife Sue says I should have done it a long time ago."

David's new approach to eating has not turned him into a "compulsive label reader."

"I glance at them but I am not obsessive. I eat a lot of chicken and white meat."

He says it makes sense to eat healthily. "Once you reach 50 you start falling into the danger category for all sorts of problems, especially with your knees and back. Before I lost weight I felt like I was carrying a sack of potatoes around with me. Now I feel so much more agile and energetic. I feel better all-round."

His job as an electrician is easier now, too. "I can squeeze under floorboards a lot more easily - although I'd rather not have to squeeze under any," he laughs.

Leader at the Weight Watchers class Diane Melling is proud of her pupil. "He has done really well and he looks great."

"I think a lot of men would like to lose weight but they think I'll do it tomorrow and don't actually take the plunge. They should because it is well worth it."

l David attended Weight Watchers meetings at the Harold Club, Huddersfield Road, Low Moor, on Thursday at 6.30pm. For more information call Weight Watchers on 0845 7123000.