Dad's incredible 30-stone transformation as he takes up new PT career

A man who ballooned to 300kg after bingeing on 10,000 calories a day shed more than half of his body weight and is set to become a competitive bodybuilder after a stunning 30-stone transformation .

Jack Ako, 29, weighed a staggering 47 stone at his heaviest thanks to a fast food diet of takeaway pizzas, burgers, crisps and chocolate. He was left "embarrassed" by the weight gain, and "got sick" of looking at himself in the mirror, and he decided to tackle his food addiction and shed his fat.

Jack was able to turn his life around and take up a new career as a personal trainer - and he's now preparing to compete in his first bodybuilding competition after piling on the muscle.

Over the course of four years Jack, from Wakefield in West Yorkshire, was able to lose 190kg, dropping his weight from 30 to 16.5 stone. The dad switched fat for lean muscle by having a gastric band fitted, changing his diet and going to the gym.

Jack said: "I was embarrassed by my size, and at times I didn't know how much longer I had to live. But now, after losing all the weight I have, I can't believe how I used to live at that size.

"I was told by doctors that there was a five-year waiting lists for help - but to be honest I didn't think I would survive that long. I've gone from not being able to walk up stairs to running 5kms easily and lifting heavy weights. I'm living proof that no matter how big you are, you can become the person you want to be."

Jack said he has long been a "big lad" having been born weighing 13 pounds, nearly double the average 7.5 pound weight for a newborn child.

He said he was the "biggest kid in school" and the most overweight on the rugby team, with the weight only piling on after he stopped playing sports aged 18. His eating habits worsened still when he landed a job running a bookies, and he'd feast on Greggs on his way to the office.

He said: "Before setting off for work I would have some toast at home with my family. But before I would get to the office, I would stop off at Greggs and get two breakfast sandwiches."

"Then I would have my packed lunch, but then I would also nip out and get either fast food or a meal deal. And before coming home I would grab a pizza or KFC and then have my tea. I would then be sat behind a computer all day watching TV or gambling - it wasn't a good environment.

"I was eating around 10,000 calories a day easily while doing minimal exercise." The habits meant that, by age 25, Jack weighed a staggering 46.8 stone, causing some family and friends to become "worried".

He said: "I would also look in the mirror and hate the way I was so I decided to do something about it." Jack said he first went to the NHS but they only offered limited help. So in April 2022 he flew out to Turkey and had a gastric band fitted privately which he said shrank his stomach for 18 months.

The surgery enabled him to lose 15 stone, but he still wasn't eating well. He continued: "I still wasn't eating well, but I was eating a lot less as I felt fuller for longer which helped me start losing weight."

When the 18 months of his gastric band were up in 2024, Jack had managed to bring his weight down to 27 stone.