A woman lost an incredible six stone after being left 'mortified' by a picture taken at her friend's baby shower.
Abbey Lewis, who weighed just over 20 stone, burst into tears after seeing the photo and immediately messaged her pal to remove it from Facebook. From this point on, Abbey decided to overhaul her eating habits and start taking better care of her health - a move that saw her dropping a whopping six stone in less than two years.
Speaking to the Mirror, the purchasing officer said: "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, from Pontypridd, South Wales, had issues with her weight since primary school and would often be bullied by her classmates. As an adult, her love for fast food continued and she would regularly takeaway meal either from McDonald's or Taco Bell for lunch while working in a busy call centre.
"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."
For years, Abbey would try to cover up her body as much as possible and would only dress in dark clothes 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 she couldn't maintain for a long period.
She admits that her desperation to shift the weight meant she was always looking for quick fixes instead of making permanent lifestyle changes. When she wouldn't see any results after a couple of days of crash dieting, she would throw in the towel.
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 favourites are sugar-free peach iced tea and a low-sugar pancake mix topped with fruit that she has at the weekend for a treat. At lunchtime, she usually makes chicken wraps or rice bowls and salad, adding tikka mayonnaise for extra flavour.
In the evening, usually opts for either a stir-fry or spaghetti bolognese using low-carb pasta.
After becoming better informed about nutrition and finding healthy alternatives to lose weight sustainably, Abbey dropped six stone just in time for her sister's wedding in August 2022. She now feels super fit and is 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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