Lucy Abberley, 32, Full-time Mum From: Pontypridd, Wales Height: 5ft 7.5 Weight/dress size before: 13st 6/size 18 Weight after: 10st 2/size 12 Total weight loss: 3st 4

“When my weight crept up to 13st 6 in April 2009, I was worried I would soon hit the 15st mark, which would have placed me firmly in the ‘obese’ category as opposed to ‘overweight’ according to the B.M.I chart. I was invited to lots of special occasions that summer, like my parents’ ruby wedding anniversary and my brother’s 30th birthday, and I felt sick thinking of having to wear a huge dress, so I decided I was going to slim down and enjoy all these parties without being the fattest person there.

My mum had always fed me a healthy diet, but when I left home aged 19 to work as a nanny for an Asian family I ate like a pig – I had piles of rice and chipatis every night and I never said no to seconds either. My weight escalated and I quickly put on two and a half stone. Then I had Liam, my eldest son (now 10), at 21, and the weight kept creeping up. I fell pregnant again aged 29 and had my two youngest sons, Ricky (now two and a half) and Sonny (17 months) with just 16 months between them, which also took its toll on my body. I was snacking on sugary cereal bars and chocolate all day and would finish the kids’ leftovers. In the evening I would eat the same sized portions as my partner of six years, Rob, 32, and load up on carbs like rice, bread and chips. I wasn’t going out much, using the children as an excuse, but really I just didn’t want to go out because I didn’t like the way I looked.

I started my diet in May 2009 and chose Closer Diets because it’s convenient for busy mums like myself - I can log on whenever I need support or have a spare minute to plan my meals for the week; it’s there 24/7, even in the middle of the night.

I chose the low-carb plan and started to weigh my food religiously. One of my favourite recipes is chicken with sesame seeds and ginger in soy sauce - it’s really quick and the ingredients aren’t expensive.

My new diet works for the whole family - I just add rice or potatoes for the kids, but otherwise they eat what I eat. My eldest has always been a picky eater, but he’s started enjoying meat more now because he’s tried all these different flavours and all these different meats.

I reached my target weight in just seven and a half months, and I lost most of the weight in time for nearly all of the parties. Everyone’s asking me how I did it, and one of my friends has actually joined the same plan so she can slim in time for her wedding.

I feel so much more confident in my own skin now. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be stripping off for a bikini shoot, I’d have said ‘No way!’

I feel like a different person, and I would say to anyone who is reading this, ‘There’s nothing stopping you, and once you start it’s easier than you think’.

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