A Belfast woman has opened up about her weight loss journey which saw her lose five stone in a matter of months.
Shannon Mitchell, 26, was given a fright after a GP explained that her BMI was sitting very high. She had gone to enquire about a breast reduction when she learned that she would need to lose a lot of weight to go ahead with it.
Hearing those words from a medical professional, gave Shannon the kick that she said she needed to take her weight seriously. After trying well known weight loss groups and years of yo-yo diets, nothing seemed to work.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, she said: "For years I had yo-yo dieted and would have maybe lost a stone and then put it on, and more. Around three years ago I went to my GP to ask about a breast reduction and I got a bit of a scare there to be honest.
"They basically said that for me to be able to get the reduction, I would need to reduce my BMI. At the time, I was over 15 stone. I just burst into tears and didn't know if I was able to lose that much weight.
"From that moment I thought I would take it serious. It was coming up to Christmas and all I was doing was putting it off. In Summer of last year I thought 'if I don't do this now, I never will and I'll end up severely damaging my health'.
"I decided to get stuck in to it, and lose weight properly. In the past I had tried everything, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, it all, but they never worked for me. I found it tough so read up about weight loss and about calories.
"Once I understood calories, I decided to count all the calories that I was consuming. The numbers on the scales dropped very quickly, it was fast at the start but I wasn't noticing physical changes in my body. It was funny because when I started noticing physical changes was when the scales started to stay the same, and slow down.
"Whenever I first weighed myself, I was over 14 and a half stone. After the GP scare, I did try and be a bit more sensible. Within a year I had lost five stone exactly."
Around 14 months after kickstarting her fitness journey, Shannon has lost a total of six stone, and feels healthier and happier in herself. Now taking to TikTok, she has attracted thousands of followers, who have become inspiring by the young woman's transformation.
"Now, at the end of October, just over a year, I am down to nine stone. So I have lost around six stone now, which I am really proud of myself for doing," Shannon added.
"For the first while I was just counting calories, and then I decided after a couple of months to go to the gym. I never thought I would ever be able to change my body to where I liked it. I started the gym and done classes, then as my confidence grew I started going to the gym on my own.
"I posted a before and after photo on Instagram in August and now I do have more and more people reaching out about my weight loss journey. I love hearing that I have inspired others.
"One day I didn't believe I could do this, and now that I have, I want to help others believe in themselves. If I had of saw someone from Belfast, similar to me, at the start of my journey, it could have helped me. I had tried so many times and failed, I was in a rut and hating every part of my body. I think if you find a reason to do it, that is the key. Making goals is a great way to stay motivated.
"Another piece of advice I would give is to take before and after photos. Within a few weeks when you look back, that tiny bit of motivation could keep you going."
You can follow Shannon's journey on TikTok at shannon_mitch.
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