It was on New Year's Eve, just hours before the clock struck midnight on 2019, that Emily Parker decided she wanted to change her life.
An online order of tights hadn't been delivered for her to wear out to celebrate that night and a friend asked if she would like to borrow something of hers to wear. Emily, knowing she wouldn't fit into her friend's clothes, declined and found an alternative outfit.
"I remember being so uncomfortable that night. I sat down in the corner most of the night, I was barely speaking and wouldn't get up from the table because I didn't like the way I looked and couldn't fit between the tables," said the 22-year-old.
"After that night, I got really sick of being 'the fat friend,' and decided to really go for it."
As a size 28 at her heaviest in 2018, Emily, who lives in Glanaman, near Ammanford, had been overweight since her teenage years but put on more weight after the birth of her son, two-year-old son Jaxson, and weighed 20 stone and four pounds.
"I put on weight after going to comprehensive school and having lunch money, going to the shop and buying things full of sugar. I had a real sweet tooth and loved chocolates, sweets and takeaways," said Emily.
The mum said she had tried a number of different diets like Slimming World since she was 16 but nothing seemed to work.
"My breakfast could look like three bowls of sugary cereals like Coco Pops or something, or toast but instead of having two slices, I would have five," she said.
"My lunch was usually a cheese toastie, grilled with butter and then in the evening we'd probably have a takeaway which could be a Chinese or kebab."
After years of gorging on quick and easy takeaway meals while trying to look after her son, Emily set out a simple plan in January 2019 to start counting her calories on app MyFitnessPal, walk 10,000 steps a day and bought a dress that was a size 16 for a friend's wedding in the July.
"I was really surprised at how quickly the weight came off. I cut out bread and alcohol at the start and was just controlling my portion sizes and counting calories," she said.
"I wasn't doing loads of exercise but just making sure I got 10,000 steps in a day to keep active, and by the April, I had lost around five stone."
Seven months into her new diet, Emily had lost seven stone and the size 16 dress for her friend's wedding was actually too big for her.
"My mindset completely changed. Before, I had been living with my parents but now living with my partner I got to cook my own food and cook meals from scratch.
"For breakfast, I would have something high in fibre like Bran Flakes. Then for lunch I would have eggs which are full of protein and then for tea I would eat chicken and veggies or some other type of meat with salad.
"My partner's really tall so anything he wanted to eat I made sure was on the top shelf so I couldn't reach it."
By March 2020, Emily weighed 10 stone and eight pounds which means that she lost nearly 10 stone, around half her body weight, in just over a year.
And aside from the changes in the kitchen, Emily started to become more active and was able to play with her toddler: "I was really so lazy before, I had to force myself to get up to the go to the toilet. I'd be out of breath running up the stairs or walking.
"I went from that to doing two 45-minute workouts a day and running for five miles."
But the biggest change has been in the 22-year-old's mindset, who says that now she has better confidence and mental health.
"I remember being in New Look and trying on a pair of leggings that were size 10 and they fit me. I just couldn't beileve it, it was such an amazing feeling, I'm so much happier now. I can wear skinny jeans and fitted t-shirts rather than baggy clothes that I would have to order from plus-size shops online," she said.
"The best thing has been learning self-control. I respect my body now. If I want something, I will treat myself. In lockdown, I put on some weight but knew I could get it off because my mindset is completely different," added the mum.
"It's been hard, I've faced challenges and hiccups and it's been a really long road but I am so much happier in myself, it's completely worth it."
