A woman who used to be 23st and could not to tie her own shoelaces is now a marathon runner after dropping half of her bodyweight.
The mum of two was able to drop 14 dress sizes after swapping out high-fat foods for salads and getting into running.
Maria Bullock, 55, had gained the weight after years of unhealthy eating, but decided to change her life after reaching a point where she was struggling to breath and being unable to tie her laces.
She now exercises daily and will be competing in the London Marathon on Sunday.
Maria, from Littleworth, Derbyshire, gained the weight after going through a divorce in 2015, and was 23st at her heaviest.
Speaking on her transformation, Maria said: "I've changed my lifestyle and put stops in place, like on my fridge I have a 'halt' sign because I go to my fridge when I'm hungry but also when I'm angry, tired or stressed.
"Emotional eating is what you really need to be aware of."
Her weight gain caused her to suffer from back problems and cholesterol, and she really decided to make a change when she could not tie her laces one morning.
She describes that being a wakeup call, and she joined Slimming World to help her control her diet.
Maria, said: "I'm only 5ft 6ins tall and even though I was skipping breakfast I was eating far too much for lunch and dinner.
"I'd have lasagne with fatty mince and cheesy sauce. I also loved spaghetti Bolognese which I'm heap with cheese.
"I had always been overweight and lost ten stone several times.
"But when I achieved my goal I would go back to the baguettes and cheese so my weight was always changing.
"I really knew I had to change for good when I couldn't bend down to tie my laces because I couldn't breathe.
"I suddenly thought 'oh my God' I'm only 49 and I need to do something about this.
"The last pair of jeans I bought were size 30 and they are the only clothes I've kept from then to show people, but now I am 12 or 14."
By 2017 Maria, who has two daughters Adrianne, 20, and Hannah, 18, had shed 12 stone and now runs five times a week.
She was motivated after realising that her health was suffering, and that she wanted to be as fit as possible for her children.
"I was on blood pressure tablets, the maximum you could have, and my knees were aching because of the weight," she said.
"It was the thought of not being able be around for the children getting married, and if I was and they had kids, would I be able to play with them?"
She has now managed to keep the weight off and has competed in a 50km ultra race and a parachute jump.
She added: "I swap things out to make them healthier. It's easy to do and doesn't taste much different.
"I still have a large appetite and you can still eat a lot of food.
"I do go out for takeaways and know that life is for living, it is all about moderation and I don't mind if my weight goes up a bit because I know how to get back to my target.
Maria now mostly eats low fat alternatives for dinner and eats salad and protein, such as mackerel, for lunch instead of baguettes with butter, cheese and ham.
She does not follow an extreme diet, but instead chooses more nutritious food such as porridge, chicken curry and fruit and vegetables.
"I took about a year to lose the last half stone and my weight has been around 11.5 stone for four years.
"Now I've done a parachute jump, done a 50km ultra run around Derby and all this bucket list stuff.
"The thing I also get out of running is the wellbeing side of it.
"It sets you up for the day and then you are more likely to follow a healthy eating plan, and less likely to suffer from depression.
"A pound of fat and a pound of muscle weigh the same but the muscle will help you burn more calories.
"When you get down to that target, the muscle helps you maintain."
