A fizzy pop 'addict' who guzzled 10 cans a day and could barely manage walking from her car to the front door has taken up cheerleading - after shedding a whopping 12 stone. Clair Jones says she began to pile on the pounds during her first pregnancy with son Garyn, now 25, scoffing a family-sized bag of crisps for breakfast and chomping on bags of sweets.
These unhealthy habits saw her weight balloon to 23st 1lbs, until she was only able to fit into size 30 clothing and was unable to work. The self-professed 'greedy' 49-year-old said she'd 'accepted' she'd always be overweight as the word diet scared her and she hated vegetables.
But when two pals joined Slimming World in 2020, she said she felt 'left out' and decided to sign up too. The mum-of-two managed to shed an incredible 12st, slimming down to a slinky size 14 and tipping the scales at just 11st 1lbs.
After years of being 'too big' to exercise, she followed in the footsteps of cheerleader daughter Ellie, 22, and signed up to the parents' team. Clair, who goes to practice twice a week, competed for the first time earlier this month and helped the team place second.
Clair, from Rhondda Valley, South Wales, said: "I feel like a completely different person. I haven't worked for 25 years because I was overweight, my weight stopped me doing everything.
"I've been a cheer mother for 14 years. We started up a parents' team last year and obviously I was just cheering them on but this year they persuaded me to join because I was small enough. I'm 50 this year so I thought I'd give it a go. My daughter cringed a bit at first but she came to watch me in the competition and said I wasn't as bad as she thought.
"The competition was amazing, it's great fun and I give it my best. I would never have been able to do it before, I could barely walk from my car to my house. IIt was hard work at first. I've got two left feet and no rhythm but we have a laugh, which really helps.
"My kids never in a million years thought they'd see me doing something like this. Even our cheerleading coach never thought they'd see me doing it. They used to say 'are you sure you should be eating that at this time in a morning?' in a nice way. They're really happy."
After piling on 6st 5lbs during her first pregnancy, Clair accepted that she'd always be overweight as she hated vegetables but loved sweets, crisps and pop. She knew that loving husband, Darrell, 60, was happy with her size as long as she was.
Her unhealthy habits left her too big to work or even go for a walk but since losing weight, Clair's found a new calling and has become a part-time Slimming World consultant.
Clair said: "I honestly thought I was going to be big for the rest of my life. The word 'diet' scared me. I love food, I was quite greedy and I'm still quite greedy. I just accepted I would be big forever. I hadn't always been that big but I gained 6st 5lbs when I was having my first child. I thought I was eating for two and it went from there really.
"I was never a small child and was always a bit bigger than my friends. You picture a diet as meals with salad and I don't eat salad or veg. My very first week when I joined, I ate silly diet food and didn't lose weight the first week so I said 'I'm not doing this'.
"I was a big sweetie and crisp person and I would drink coke until it came out of my ears. I got rid of all that in the first week, I deprived myself of everything. My consultant said I could eat nicer food and lose weight.
"I ate food that I actually like the second week and lost some weight so I thought 'it is working and I'm not just eating salad'. Darrell is over the moon. He was happy with me before, he was happy if I was, but he knows I can do so much more now."
