A mum who would wake with her stomach rumbling in the middle of the night lost seven stone after ditching her nightly midnight feasts.
Teresa Belton, weighed just over 20 stone at her heaviest and was struggling to squeeze into a size 22. The 33-year-old said she would gorge on junk food every evening after putting her daughter, Marlee, 14, to sleep.
Teresa said she would then wake in the middle of the night for snacks, eating whole chocolate cakes, oven chips and pizza.
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The mum-of-one would have up to five takeaways a week, but after seeing a photo of herself her friend had taken, at a Christmas party in December 2020, she was determined to change her ways.
Now Teresa has ditched her binge-eating habits, opts for homemade "fakeaways", and walks every day for 45 minutes. She is also managing to sleep through the night without waking for a treat.
She has now slimmed down to an impressive 13st 1lb and a slender size 12 and said she has never been happier. Teresa, a cleaner from Norfolk, said: "I just ate and ate and kept snacking even after a full day of food.
"I didn't really realise how big I had got because I avoided full-length mirrors and having my photo taken so that photo shocked me. I'm so proud of myself for sticking to healthy food and I feel fabulous."
Teresa had found herself in an unhealthy cycle when it came to food. She continued: "I just had a bin full of empty takeaway packets.
"I'd order pizzas, burgers, you name it. But I was in denial about how big I was getting. I knew clothes were becoming tight, but I just didn't want to believe it."
After seeing a rare photo of herself prompted her to make a lifestyle change, Teresa said she saw people "doing calorie counting" on Instagram and thought it was worth a go.
She said: "It was amazing how quickly I saw results. It was hard, but I felt so motivated to get healthy and shed the pounds."
Teresa switched her regular takeaways to homemade versions such as quarter pound burger, chilli cheese fries and stuck to 1,800 calories a day to start off with. She added: "I used to huff and puff just doing a short walk but slowly I built up my walks a week to every day.
"I found recipes that felt like I wasn't missing out on yummy food, but they were still healthy. I let myself have a cheat day and am stricter on other days, so it balances out."
Teresa is now well on her way to her 11.5 stone goal weight. She's also hoping to have surgery next year to remove her loose skin.
She said: "I now love looking in the mirror because I'm not ashamed of how I look. I didn't realise how much my weight had affected me. I'm so proud of myself."
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