A mum-of-four has stood up to yobs who cruelly chanted "who ate all the pies?" at her in the street by shedding over 12 stone.
Tricia Appleby, 54, had ballooned up to 23 stone at her heaviest but has since dropped more than 15 dress sizes after embarking on her weightloss journey.
Tricia, who works as a healthcare receptionist, says she had been obese since she was a teenager and used to have people chant at her on the street - with some even making jokes about her own weight.
But she has now completely turned her life around after ditching crisps and chocolate.
"I started gaining weight in my late teens. Every time I had a child I got worse and piled on more weight," she said.
"I went on several diets but I still gained weight. Basically, all my life I have been obese. I was embarrassed and quiet. I liked joining in with things but I always stayed in the background.
"I would be out in the town and I would get a chant of 'Who ate all the pies?'. I used to make jokes about my weight and say that it didn't hurt. I would binge on chocolate as my main go-to comfort food."
Tricia, who works at Bupa Ashby Court in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, said that her mental health had taken a hit as a result of her weight. It all came to a head after her partner at the time found a secret chocolate stash.
She told StaffordshireLive : "Mentally I was upset. I was getting all my clothes from Evans and they just were not stylish. The prices were also triple to what they would be if they were from Primark.
"My daily routine was I would get up, take my daughters to school and then sit down. I had a very sedentary lifestyle. It was awful, I would only cheer up when I had a treat. I was happy while I was eating but I would always feel guilty and upset after.
"I knew I didn't look nice and people would say to me 'you wouldn't be you' if I lost weight. I would hide all my chocolate in the saucepan cupboard. I got a message from my daughter Kirstie who said 'Jamie has found the chocolate stash'.
"I felt mortified. I thought I've got to do something."
The biggest part of the change is the difference in the diet for Tricia.
She used to guzzle down family bags of Doritos and packets of chocolate of an evening.
She added: "I had no breakfast. At around 11am, I would get the box of treats out. I would have a bag of broken biscuits. You used to be able to buy four Twirl bars for 99p and I would just eat them all myself in one sitting. It is so easy to become obese. I would eat a whole Whole Nut bar to myself too.
"For tea, I would usually have large chips and fish. In the evening I would scoff biscuits. Some days, I would buy a big pack of sandwiches and a family bag of Doritos and just eat the whole thing to myself. I could eat a whole cheesecake too
"Now, I eat breakfast such as yogurt and fruit as well as a few Wheetabixes. Lunch is usually a salad or some pasta. Tea is pilchards or chicken thighs and veg. I love a cauliflower-based pizza too. I am still getting the full feeling."
Now, after losing over 12 stone, she will be taking on the role of consultant at SlimmingWorld in Blackfordby village hall from December 17.
She has offered some key words of advice to people looking to lose weight.
She said: "I started losing weight in April 2016 and I have since lost more than I wanted. My pants don't roll down anymore. My eyes don't pop out when I bend down. Every time I walk past a shop window, I think 'oh god - is that me?'.
"I love life now. People can't believe it when i show them old pictures of me. My advice is don't look at it as a long game. Take it a stone at a time.
"Half a stone here and there - it all adds up. It's so doable. I can help other people as I have been there. Jamie and I went to Florida to get married."
