Dropping half a dress size has meant a new lease of life for mum Lara Holden.
Lara, 34, from Bexleyheath, lost a huge six stone after being inspired to go on a fitness and weight loss campaign.
The mum-of-two boys weighed 16 stone, seven pounds and was a size 24 in clothes before she changed her diet and lifestyle.
She said: “I hardly ate fruit or vegetables, preferring convenience food such as pies, pizza or chips.
“I could eat a whole packet of biscuits with a cup of tea and my chocolate bars kept getting bigger until I was having a family-sized bar to myself.
“I couldn’t run around with the boys because I got breathless.
“I couldn’t join in when they went on rides on adventure playgrounds because I was scared I’d be told I was too big to get on one.
“Other people’s reactions have made me feel proud of myself. Now I feel my life has really begun.”
Lara said it was the death of two family members that made her decide to lose weight. Her 52-year-old uncle died after being diagnosed with kidney cancer and her mother’s partner died in his sleep aged 54.
She joined a Rosemary Conley fitness club in Bexleyheath in January 2010 and lost two stone in her first year, by sticking to a diet and exercising. She continued with the plan and dropped to 10 stone 3 pounds: a size 12 in clothes.
She added: “I realised life is short and I desperately wanted to make more of it.”