Dad unrecognisable after all-inclusive holiday left him weighing 24 stone and fearing early death

A dad has shared his incredible weight loss after he came back from a holiday afraid he was going to die young.

37-year-old Andrew Hulbert, from Oxfordshire, headed off on an all-inclusive holiday to Spain with his family only to realise he'd gained a whole stone of weight in two weeks.

With fry-ups every morning, plenty of treats throughout the day and unlimited beer and cocktails from the resort bar he piled on the pounds throughout his time away.

When Andrew weighed himself on the scales when he returned home he was shocked to find that he was 24 stone, the heaviest he'd ever been.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, he explained that after realising he'd put on a stone during two weeks on holiday he was suddenly very afraid about his health and the idea that he might not be around to watch his kids grow up.

Mirror Pix

Andrew told the Mirror he wasn't setting a good example for his kids and revealed he'd been spending about £1,000 a month on takeaways.

He said: "I came back from a two-week all-inclusive holiday in May 2023 and got on the scales to find I was 24 stone, the heaviest I'd been in my adult life.

"I have a young family that are growing up and I just looked in the mirror and thought, 'You need to change for them, or you won't be here for them'.

"My diet leading up to the holiday was poor. I'd spend about £1,000 per month on takeaways and I was eating a lot of convenience food.

"I also had a thing for big freak doughnuts that are nearly 1,000 calories per go. On holiday, my eating habits were particularly bad.

"I'd be having full breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks throughout the day. This also included drinking a load of beers, cocktails and cola. I was about 23 stone before and 24 stone when I came back."

Mirror Pix

Discovering he'd hit his heaviest ever weight is what caused Andrew to decide to do something about it.

He cut carbs and sugar out of his diet, started walking everywhere and signed up for MAN v FAT football which is aimed at men with a BMI higher than 27.5.

Andrew told the Mirror 'the biggest challenge was sticking' to his new diet and that the withdrawal symptoms after cutting out carbs, sugar, alcohol and caffeine were particularly punishing in the first two weeks.

However, he found that he was able to make it through with more energy than before, which he was able to channel into exercising more.

Andrew explained that he took to parking half an hour away from work meetings so he'd have to do plenty of walking each day.

Since he started losing weight in June he's shed eight stone, a third of his body weight, and said his family had been his most 'amazing supporters'.

Topics: Health, UK News, Parenting

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker