By Cate Owen
Over two years Kepa Tairua has lost nearly 130 kilograms, and last week he reached his goal weight - a touch under the 100 kg mark.
"At my highest weight I was 229 kgs. The reason I got that way was because I was depressed and just wasn’t sure where my life was going," he said. "I was using food to cope."
Kepa says it wasn’t until he understood he deserved a good life that he decided to lose the weight.
"I was allowed to feel good. I was allowed to have a good life. Stop feeling worthless." He said.
Kepa chose to document his whole journey online, from learning about nutrition to his exercise plan.
He says he started by simply changing his diet, and the subsequent weight loss gave him the confidence to leave his house and start walking. He plans to run Around the Bays this year.
Kepa says the online community of weight-loss bloggers were a real support, and a source of inspiration.
"I instantly looked for people who had success stories, just to give me some hope."
He is hoping his blog will provide that same support and encouragement to others starting their weight-loss journey.
"I want to keep my site up so that people do know that it is possible without needing to resort to crazy diet schemes or gastric bypass – which is a great surgery and does help a lot of people – but is not entirely necessary."
3 News
Watch the video of Kepa discussing his story with Sunrise.
Watch Kepa's YouTube clip