I ballooned to 36st and needed TWO scales to weigh myself

I ballooned to 36st after years of yo-yo dieting and needed TWO scales to weigh myself – here’s how I’ve lost 280lbs and kept it off

• Ashley Spendiff, 42, from Nottinghamshire, used to wear XXXXXXXL T-Shirts
• But his diabetes diagnosis in 2021 shocked Ashley into overhauling his lifestyle 
• Read More: I’m a grandmother-of-five and I became a bodybuilder at 65 by swapping wine and Thai food for workouts

A man who needed two scales to weigh himself after ballooning to 36st has revealed how he shed over half his body weight.

Ashley Spendiff, 42, from East Brigford, Nottinghamshire, explained how he spent years yo-yo dieting in a bid to control his weight.

Two years ago, the care home manager was gorging himself on five takeaways a week and had to wear size XXXXXXXL T-Shirts.

Ashley – who had a 58 inch waist at his heaviest – says he turned to food for comfort following the death of a close friend.

As a result of his weight, Ashley stopped going to the cinema over concerns he wouldn’t be able to fit into the seats – a fear which has also prevented him from ever flying abroad.

Ashley Spendiff, 42, from East Brigford, Nottinghamshire, pictured before overhauling his diet in 2021

As a single man living alone, Ashley would spend hours sitting at home and gaming with other player he had met online. 

Describing how he was in a ‘dark place’, Ashley says he couldn’t even bear to look at himself in the mirror.

He added: ‘I would try to not make eye contact with people in the street as I know they would be judging me for my size.’ 

However, he was given a wake-up call in November 2021 when he was diagnosed with diabetes. 

Ashley explained: ‘Throughout my life my weight has always fluctuated and I have always tried to lose weight. But I would get three weeks in and give up.

‘About 15 years ago I did go on the Cambridge diet where you only drink milkshakes and lost eight stone but afterwards I ballooned and doubled my weight and that’s how I got to 36 stone.

‘When I was diagnosed with diabetes that’s when I became determined to lose the weight as before then my size had never affected my health.

‘I knew that now it was, I had to do something about it.’

The care home manager has now lost a staggering 20 stone and is trying to raise £35,000 for his excess skin removal surgery

Left: Ashley Spendiff before his weight loss when he weighed a staggering 36stone. Right: Ashley recently pictured after losing over 280lbs

Although he was determined to change his lifestyle, Ashley started going on more walks – but found he would get out of breath extremely quickly. 

Five months after his diagnosis, a friend introduced Ashley to open water swimming – which allowed him to build up his fitness without putting pressure on his joints. 

He continued: ‘Swimming took the weight I was carrying off my body compared to other exercising which meant I could do so much more.’

Although Ashley was self-conscious about swimming at first, he started building up his confidence by going regularly.

Over the summer, he was doing four two hour sessions a week – which led to him shedding 20 stone so far.

He continued: ‘In the summer last year I was doing two hour sessions up to four times a week and at the moment as it is winter I am still doing two sessions at the weekend.

The care home manager says he ‘couldn’t look at himself in the mirror’ when he was at his heaviest

Ashley took up open water swimming in April 2022 after being referred by a friend. He said: ‘It showed me that exercise could be fun and I started to look forward to it and have also tried paddle boarding now too’

‘The women that run the sessions were also so supportive and I found it really good for my mental health too.

‘It showed me that exercise could be fun and I started to look forward to it and have also tried paddle boarding now too.’

Before his diagnosis, Ashley says he was stuck in a ‘vicious cycle’ of unhealthy eating.

He explained: ‘Before work I would always grab chocolate and crisps and snacks from the convenience shop nearby and would eat a lot of takeaways.

‘When you are bigger there are so many things you have to think about that the average person doesn’t. 

‘I had to buy all of my clothes online as shops didn’t have my size but now since my weight loss, I love shopping off the rack and going round charity shops to find clothes I like.

Ashley was told he could not get his much-needed surgery on the NHS. He has compared the pain to ‘internal tearing’

‘When I was 36 stone, I would always worry about work meetings and whether I would be able to sit in the chair.

‘I stopped going to the cinema as I felt I was too big to fit in the seat and I have never been abroad because I feared I wouldn’t fit in the plane seat.’

Since overhauling this lifestyle, Ashley joked that he now spends ‘too much time’ looking at himself in the mirror and admiring his hard work.

On top of his swimming, Ashley also goes on five-mile walks five days a week and does two weekly cardio workouts too.

He added: ‘I now enjoy cooking for myself which is not something I did before my weight loss.

Ashley’s Diet Before: 

Breakfast: Sausage roll/ bacon cob

Lunch: Order in a takeaway such as a kebab or chicken strips and chips.

Dinner: Takeaway including pizza, burgers, kebabs and chips.

Snack: Crisps, chocolates and cake throughout the day.

Ashley’s Diet Now: 

Breakfast: 2 Weetabix with milk

Lunch: Chicken or tuna salad with a boiled egg

Dinner: 2 pork medallions, veg and boiled potatoes.

Snack: Fruit throughout the day.

‘When you live on your own its hard to keep yourself motivated but I just look at how far I have come now and I’m very proud.

‘I still have the odd takeaway but when I was losing the weight, I was very strict with myself and didn’t snack at all or have any fast food.

‘I probably spend too much time looking in the mirror now. I replaced my comfort eating with exercise and positive things.

‘If you told me two years ago that I’d enjoy going to the gym I would’ve laughed. I find it easier to engage with people and strike up conversation in public.’

Following his staggering 20stone weight loss, Ashley has been left with three stone of excess skin – which he says feels like walking around with ‘internal tearing’.

Despite his hopes that he would be able to get it removed on the NHS, Ashley was told by his GP that the surgery was classed as a cosmetic treatment and he would need to privately fund the £35,000 operation himself.

Ashley has now set up a Just Giving page to help him raise the funds for his much-needed surgery.

You can donate to Ashley’s JustGiving page here.

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