Carli Jay, 30, from Surrey, crept up to a size 24 after she consumed twice the 2500 recommended allowance of calories for an adult man every day.
At her heaviest she weighed 20 stone, but changed her lifestyle after she received a frightening warning in February 2014, when she woke up one morning and discovered the right side of her body was completely numb.
She said: “At that time, I was verging on a size 26 and because I was so big my bulk had cut off my circulation.
“I had pins and needles all the way down my side and I couldn’t feel my hip. I knew then I had to change.”
After moving to the UK from Australia in 2010, Carli swapped her active lifestyle for a desk bound job and constant snacking.
She said: “I would just put food in my mouth. My portion sizes were out of control.
“At work I’d snack on Jaffa cakes, sweets and lollies. Then I would eat lunch and snack until dinner.”
She continued: “I’d have two desserts at night and smoke a pack of cigarettes a week.
“I was often so exhausted from work I’d come home and sit all night in front of the television just eating.”
In four years, Carli put on four stone. But, confident and outgoing, she didn’t worry about hiding her growing figure and donned swimsuits and bikinis on holiday.
Despite being happy in herself, Carli tried losing weight and experimented with diet shakes, meal replacement drinks and tea – but the fads never lasted.
Eventually, her size took a toll on her body and she’d find herself constantly out of breath – to the point where merely walking up a set of stairs was a daunting prospect.
Then, in August 2013, on a holiday to Mexico with a friend, she stepped on the scales for the first time in years and was shocked to discover she weighed 20 stone.
Carli said: “In Mexico, we were swimming and cave diving and it made me realise how much I missed my active lifestyle. I was shocked how much I weighed but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the buffets and having a good time.”
Nine months later, Carli had the health scare that encouraged her to overhaul her lifestyle.
Working out for the first time in four years, she hopped on an old exercise bike she had bought two years earlier and spun for 15 minutes in front of her favourite boxset.
She also overhauled her diet, switching calorie-laden pizzas for healthy salads. In just a month, she lost a stone.
After four months, she’d shed four stone just by exercising in her lounge in front of the telly.
Now, at a svelte 10 stone, Carli is happier than ever. With a new-found love for exercise, she trains at the gym twice a day without fail.
