I was about to turn 25, at over 25 stone, when I decided to change my life.

Growing up my weight was always brushed off as me being ‘puppy fat’. I didn’t mind until the bullying started in secondary school which made me start eating even more for comfort. I was always finding creative ways to hide my tracks; I would eat my lunch on the way to school and then use my allowance to buy more food later in the day. I would eat and eat and never know when I was full.

At 19 I met someone and after a few months decided to move 100 miles away from home for a new life without the support of friends and family nearby. It seemed like a great idea at the time and I was always good at putting on a show and painting a picture of a perfect life; it was actually the loneliest time of my life so I turned to food more than ever.

One day in February last year I woke up and decided enough was enough and that it was now or never. I was totally unhappy with my life and I knew it was never going to get better unless I changed; I could never be happy in a relationship or in life when I was so miserable with what I had become.

I had heard about Cambridge Weight Plan over the years but always brushed it off with excuses that I’d never be able to do it, but now I knew this was my last chance and I just couldn’t live my life never knowing what I really looked like underneath the layers of fat.

Weight fell off me and I began to notice how people were treating me differently. When I had lost around 5 stone that people started to stop me and tell me how amazing I looked. A huge highlight for me was fitting on all of the rides at Thorpe Park, which was such a good feeling after being kicked off a rollercoaster in 2008 for being too big!

Life has changed so much for me and I can honestly say that for the first time in my life, I have learnt to appreciate myself, to enjoy my own company, and feel free. I feel like my life has only just started and I am so excited to see what the future holds.