A SINGLE father from Wallasey who used to “inhale” burgers on a daily basis has shed his former heavyweight ways, losing 10 stone in just 12 months after doctors told him his diet was killing him.

Adam Harding-Jones ballooned to a whopping 30 stone following the breakdown of his marriage, turning to food for comfort.

Reaching for a McDonalds breakfast, kebab or tube of Pringles became instinct for the 48-year-old, with his career as a chauffeur also helping him to pile on the pounds.

But a trip to the hospital saw Adam turn his back on his old eating habits, replacing fast food breakfasts and takeaway lunches with blended juice drinks made from vegetables and fruit.

“I comfort ate for England. If it had been an Olympic sport, I would have got a gold medal,” said Adam, who is single parent to 14-year-old Amber.

“I was 30 stone with Type 2 diabetes, kidney problems, cholesterol and a fatty liver.

“I was taken into hospital at the end of 2013 quite quickly because I was very unwell and was told I really needed to do something about it otherwise I would probably wouldn’t come out of the next hospital I attended.”

Wirral Globe:
Adam went from wearing 56-inch waist trousers and 5XL tops, left,  to a much slimmer 38-inch waist, right.

This was the wake-up call Adam needed but the former policeman was still unsure on how to change his ways. 

Then, in February last year – wearing 56-inch waist trousers and 5XL tops - Adam watched a documentary called “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” with Joe Cross talking about the world of juicing.

Days later, a chance trip to Liverpool saw Adam walk past Waterstones, where Joe Cross was giving a talk in store, something Adam believes was fate.

He told the Globe: “I went straight to the shop and got a juicer and then went home and took all of the food out of the cupboards – I cut out bread, I cut out alcohol, I cut out fast food, processed food so now I have juices for breakfast and lunch and a fresh healthy meal in the evening.”

Like all diets, juicing has its critics but Adam says that while many people comment on “high sugar levels”, an average drink – containing kale, carrots, celery and an apple – does not have the same sugar content as a doughnut or cake.

In the 12 months since he started his diet, Adam has become a changed man, taking part in countless sporting events including half marathons and the notoriously challenging Tough Mudder.

Wirral Globe:
Adam and 14-year-old daughter Amber before, left, and now, right.

Despite his former love of pork pies, pasties and all things fatty, Adam says he doesn’t miss his old diet.

He said: “I was inhaling burgers and fast food. I would go from being in my car all day to the couch with the remote control and now I’m doing Tough Mudder and 10Ks.”

Now boasting a much slimmer and healthier 38 inch waist, Adam hopes his weight loss journey can encourage others to take the first step towards beating obesity-related diseases.

“When I watched that documentary, it was like holding up a mirror,” said Adam, whose journey has led him to becoming something of a minor celebrity.

“I’m getting lots of Facebook requests and lots of messages asking how I have done it, what you have done. I seem to be spending a lot of the day replying to messages which is really nice and I really like it because I’m sort of doing the same thing of holding up a mirror.

“If someone can see their reflection in me and say ‘If he can do it, then maybe I can’ then that’s great – I was 47-years-old, really big, with no knowledge of what I could do and resigning myself to the fact that I was going to be big forever.

“To be able to see a totally different person to what I was 12 months ago, that’s incredible.”