Bodybuilder told to quit due to bowel disease defies doctors to win a national fitness competition - while wearing his colostomy bag

A bodybuilder who suffers from a crippling bowel disease has defied by winning his first fitness competition - while wearing his colostomy bag.

Blake Beckford, 33, beat hundreds of hopefuls to be crowned the champion of a national male fitness modelling competition.

He had been left devastated when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2003, just as he was preparing to compete - and his condition forced him to quit. 

Over the next decade, he was treated with a variety of different drugs to keep the chronic bowel disease under control.

He was forced to stop his strict training regime - which had included two-hour gym sessions six days a week - and lost two stone in weight as his muscle wasted away. 

He thought he would have to give up his dream of entering fitness competitions because his condition meant he was unable to keep his sculpted body in shape.

He lived with the debilitating disease for 10 years until a flare up at the end of 2012 left him constantly fatigued and needing to go to the toilet 20 times a day.

By last October, his health had deteriorated so much that he required surgery.   

The father-of-one was admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for a sub-total colectomy, meaning his entire colon was removed.

Doctors then performed an ileostomy, where the small intestine was diverted through an opening in the abdomen.

Mr Beckford - who also needed a further two operations to help him digest food - was then left with a stoma bag on the outside of his body.

He was discharged from hospital at the end of November and told by doctors that he would never be able to train at the level needed to be a fitness model.

Doctors warned the father-of-one after surgery that he would never be able to train at the level required to be a fitness model - but he decided to try anyway

WHAT IS ULCERATIVE COLITIS? 

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a condition that causes inflammation and ulceration of the inner lining of the rectum and colon (the large bowel).

In UC, tiny ulcers develop on the surface of the lining and these may bleed and produce pus.

The inflamed colon is less able to absorb liquid and this can lead to a larger volume of watery stools. Also, because the colon cannot hold as much as usual, sufferers may have very frequent bowel movements (six or more a day).

It’s estimated that Ulcerative Colitis affects about one in every 420 people in the UK.

Viruses, bacteria, diet and stress have all been suggested as environmental triggers, but there is no definite evidence that any one of these factors is the cause of UC.

Undeterred, Mr Beckford - who weighed 11st 12lbs when he left hospital - started going to the gym in January this year and slowly increased his training schedule.

In July, MailOnline reported he had managed to relaunch his career as a fitness model against the odds, and become a personal trainer.

Less than a year after his surgery, he has now beaten off hundreds of other men to be crowned the champion of a male fitness modelling competition.

Mr Beckford came first in the male transformation category at the Pure Elite event at the Winter Gardens in Margate, Kent, on November 2.

He posed in nothing but a pair of trunks with his stoma bag visible as judges compared his impressive physique to a photo taken just after he left hospital.

Incredibly, he was also placed in the other two categories he entered by coming 4th out of 20 in 'tattooed muscle model' and 5th out of 40 in 'fitness model under 75kg'.

Yesterday, Mr Beckford said he hoped his success in his first ever modelling competition would inspire others with serious health problems.

The personal trainer, who lives with his partner in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, said: 'It was my first ever competition.

'I was just starting to get into it over 10 years ago when I was struck down by the ulcerative colitis.

'It was absolutely amazing to be able to go to a competition and compete against and beat people that haven't had to go through what I have gone through.

'I placed in all three categories that I went in, it was really rewarding bearing in mind it was 12 months since I had my last surgery.

'There is two ways you can react to a major health problem. You can either think it's game over or you can do what I did and say I think I can do it and give it your best shot.

'I just want to inspire others and I get so many messages from people who have had surgery saying they want to get back into their football or other sports which is great.'

Mr Beckford was warned by doctors to give up his dream of becoming a fitness model after having the stoma bag fitted last year.

But incredibly, after leaving hospital weighing just 11st 12lbs, he has now bulked up to 13st and has appeared in 'Men's Fitness' and 'Muscle and Fitness' magazines.

Mr Beckford, who has a son Louie, 12, now plans to give his body a rest before entering another Pure Elite event and the Miami Pro competition in the UK next April.

He added: 'When I came out of hospital it was the first time I had in weeks to get used to having a stoma.

Mr Beckford achieved his sculpted body less than 12 months after having surgery to remove his colon

'It took a while to build my confidence again, to talk to people openly about having a stoma, to show anyone what I had.

'But over time I realised that this is me and the operation made me feel like a new person, my energy levels were much better and I could enjoy life more.

'I asked the doctors if I would be able to train and they said there was a risk of hernias and other problems.

'They said to start lifting weights and training to be a physique model would be very unattainable and unlikely.

'But I just thought I am going to go in there and train and see what happens. You know you're own body and I just found myself being able to handle it.

'I did my first photo-shoot at the end of April and after that people began asking more about the bag and I was able to talk about it.

'I am determined to show people and society that having a stoma doesn't change who you are.

'It doesn't mean you're not normal. It means you can achieve anything you want to do, you can be attractive, and you can lead a normal life.'

Source: Dailymail