A size 30 mother-of-two lost an incredible 9st in 12 months after a festive photo taken last year revealed she was bigger than her Christmas tree.
Samantha Feast vowed to shed the pounds after the embarrassing snap showed her with a huge stomach, giant double chin and a round face.
The 43-year-old, from Warminster, Wiltshire, ditched her favourite pizzas and garlic bread smothered with cheese after her weight crept up to 21st 7lb.
Her size 28 jeans were bursting at the seams but she refused to buy a size 30. More worryingly, she had started to experience breathlessness walking, especially climbing stairs.At the work Christmas party in a restaurant a few weeks before Christmas she posed in a hat from a cracker while a pal snapped a picture on her phone.
'I went red when I saw the picture because my face looked so fat and round it might explode. I looked rounder than a Christmas pudding,' she said.
But with Christmas to look forward to, Samantha pushed dieting to the back of her mind again. David assured her he loved her regardless of her size but Samantha could see he was concerned about her.
When he asked her to pose next to the tree on Christmas Day she recalls feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
'I hated having my photo taken by that stage but it was Christmas Day and I didn't want to make a fuss,' she said. 'Of course I knew I was big but when I saw it the next day I couldn't believe it. I looked bigger than the Christmas tree.'
It was the wake-up call she had been waiting for and in January this year Samantha signed up to the Cambridge Diet weight-loss plan.
Last Boxing Day, Samantha scrolled through the images on her phone reliving the Christmas she had just enjoyed.
But she gasped in horror at a photo her husband David had taken of her - and vowed next Christmas would be different.
Now, thanks to that photograph, Samantha is a size 14.
She said: 'This will be my first slim Christmas and I can't wait. I used to dread finding a party outfit but now I've had my pick in all the shops.'I was horrified when I saw the picture of me next to the Christmas tree but I'm so glad David took it. It has changed my life. Confidence is the best present I could ask for.'
Mother to Anna, 16, and Kate, 12, Samantha says she can't remember a time when she wasn't overweight.
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One downside of this kind of dramatic weight loss is what it does yo your face - u end up looking older cos ur face isn't fuller and has sagged but she did really great!
ReplyDeleteReally amazing and without surgery! Try loosing one pound and trying not to gain if back after loosing it then u will know it's tough!
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