When Abbey Lewis received a Facebook notification to say she'd been tagged in a photo from a friend's baby shower, she couldn't wait to see the picture.
But when she opened up the snap, the 26-year-old was mortified by what she saw and spent the evening in floods of tears.
'Disgusted' with herself, Abbey - who at the time weighed just over 20 stone - immediately contacted her friend to get it taken down from the social media site.
And it was at that moment that she vowed to make a change and overhaul her eating habits - a move that saw her dropping a whopping six stone in less than two years.
Abbey, from Pontypridd, South Wales, told the Mirror: "The photo changed everything for me.
"I felt awful when this was taken - I was embarrassed and disgusted that I'd let myself put on so much weight.
"I had to ask them to delete the photo from social media because I couldn't bear to look at it knowing that everyone could see it publicly."
Abbey, a purchasing officer, had struggled with her weight since she was in primary school, where she remembers being bullied daily by other children.
And as an adult, she followed an unhealthy diet.
Previously working in a busy city centre call centre, every lunchtime she'd order a takeaway meal either from McDonald's or Taco Bell before tucking into oven food after work.
"My typical breakfast before my weight loss journey was a fry up and some sort of breakfast roll," Abbey told the Mirror.
"My lunch was usually fast food, either McDonald's, KFC or Taco Bell. As I previously worked in a call centre in the city centre, my colleagues and I would always buy food out rather than prepping food to take into work.
"My dinner would usually consist of freezer food like burger and chips or a takeaway the majority of the evenings.
"Overall, my meals prior to my weight loss were just a lot of unhealthy processed foods compared to me now prepping everything from scratch."
Despite being unhappy that she was overweight, for years Abbey would try her best to hide it.
She would try to cover up her body by wearing dark clothing and loose-fitting styles.
"I've always been known as the funny and loud person in my friendship group, so I feel like I would try and hide the fact I was unhappy behind my personality so that nobody would notice how unhappy I was at the time," she said.
"My friends always point out to me how much my confidence has grown over the last two years, which is a big motivator for me that people are not only noticing and complimenting my appearance, but also the change in my happiness and self-esteem, which is so important."
Having tried yo-yo diets in the past, Abbey ended up restricting herself from certain foods, which left her starving.
She admits she was never in the right mindset to make permanent lifestyle changes, always on the lookout for quick fixes to drop the pounds.
But when she wouldn't see results in a matter of days, she would give up.
Eventually, she came across a low-calorie food brand that she says allowed her to enjoy eating healthy and balanced meals without it being 'boring'.
"I would try and restrict myself so much, thinking I couldn't enjoy the foods I loved," Abbey explained.
"But coming across Skinny Food Co changed my mindset completely knowing I could still enjoy my go-to meals with a perfect balance of health and flavours, helping me lose weight at the same time, which made my journey easier and more enjoyable.
"I always thought eating healthy meant eating boring, plain foods. But it's the complete opposite, it's such a win-win situation, eating foods that you love without any sacrifices."
Her go-to's are sugar-free peach iced tea, while at the weekend she will treat herself to a low-sugar pancake mix topped with fruit.
At lunchtime, she usually makes chicken wraps or rice bowls and salad, adding tikka mayonnaise for extra flavour.
In the evening, she will cook either a stir-fry or spaghetti bolognese using low-carb pasta.
After making changes to her diet and educating herself on how to lose weight sustainably, Abbey lost six stone just in time for her sister's wedding in August 2022.
She is now able to do more exercise and feels more confident than ever.
"My biggest achievement was when my sister got married abroad. I really wanted to lose a significant amount of weight before the big day," she said.
"I hit my six stone weight loss just before and I felt so confident on the day. Since then, I have lost more weight and still aim to lose a bit more and I know I will get there eventually.
"I'm able to do a lot more things physically that I couldn’t do before which motivates me to carry on."
Hoping to be an inspiration to others, Abbey added: "If I could give advice to anyone, it would be to not give up.
"Start your journey now and just think where you'll be in a year's time, and know that you can still eat the food you enjoy without restricting yourself."
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