Being a single mum can come with a whole host of challenges but for 26-year-old Fiona Hornby there was one thing worrying her more than anything else.
Last March, Fiona was the heaviest she’d ever been at 19st 9lbs. Despite this, it was the thought of not being able to play with her son that was her biggest concern.
“He’s nearly two now,” she said. “He’s starting to run around and I was thinking I just wouldn’t have the energy to keep up with him if I stayed that size.”
While her son was a very important factor in kick starting her incredible weight loss, there were other issues at play as well.
At the time, Fiona only took photographs of her face and tried her best to not take photos that showed her body.
When one photograph taken by someone else was shared online, the comments became very nasty and personal.
Fiona, of Kearsley, remembered: “One of them said, ‘you could make her a new dress out of a row of tents’ and that really stuck with me.
“My ex-partner who I was with at the time used to always bring my weight into arguments as well.
“When we split, I thought ‘I’ll show you!’
“But to be honest, I just wanted to prove to myself and everyone else that I could do it.”
Almost 12 months on from when she started, Fiona weighs 12st 12lbs.
In that time, she says she can count on one hand the amount of time she has exercised and puts the weight loss down to a combination of different diets.
Fiona added: “I’ve probably exercised about four times since I started. I’ve done no proper workouts or been to the gym or anything like that.
“When I started, I was on Reddit and found out about intermittent fasting, where you fast for most of the day and get a short eating window so I tried that.
“I then found out about a plan called OMAD where you eat one large meal a day so I thought that would be a good thing to combine with the fasting.
“There’s so many apps to help keep track though so that really helps.”
By the end of this year, Fiona wants to weigh 9st 9lbs - a loss of exactly 10st from when she started.
Despite losing such a large amount of weight in the last year, she admits it hasn’t always come without its difficulties.
“At the start it was just dropping off so fast,” she said. “It’s really slowed down recently and I’ll hit a plateau for a few weeks but I’ve just kept going. I think I will need to incorporate more exercise now though.”
“It is quite difficult to fast and if I’ve been on a night out I do cave sometimes and order hangover food, before getting straight back on track the next day.
“I’ve also got quite a bit of loose skin on my arms, stomach and thighs. I thought it’d really bother me but it just reminds me of what I’ve achieved and to never let myself get back to where I was. It’s not like I’m trying to be a model or anything anyway!
“As my body’s got smaller it’s taken a really big toll on my back as my breasts have stayed the same size.
“It’s really weird seeing your body change though, the rings on my fingers are all loose now and my shoe size has gone down.”
