Yo-yo dieter whose hair fell out after extreme weight loss saw her drop six stone in SIX MONTHS is finally happy after piling three stone back on
Alice Sparks' weight began plummeting as she cut her diet to jut 800 calories today - but she's finally found a healthy balance
AN extreme dieter saw her body fluctuate from obese to skinny as she battled to take control of her lifestyle.
Alice Sparks, 32, lost a staggering six stone in six months as she attempted to control her weight... but her new food plan left her feeling unhealthy and exhausted.
The mum-of-two from Tiverton, Devon, tipped the scales at 17 stone at her heaviest.
Alice struggled with her weight since childhood, when she mindlessly munched cheese straight from the fridge and had a weak spot for all things sweet.
As the chocoholic got older, her eating habits worsened.
She admitted: “As soon as I started earning pocket money as a teen, I’d buy McDonald’s and pasties.
“I loved junk food.”
By 2004, the teenager was a size 16 and weighed 13 stone.
But after meeting her husband Patrick, now 36, her battle with food worsened.
The pair fell in love and soon announced that they were expecting their first baby.
Alice remembered: “Three months later, I discovered I was pregnant.
“But I used the pregnancy as an excuse to indulge in my cravings of entire packets of biscuits and sausage rolls.”
After giving birth, Alice continued to struggle with her weight.
She said: “I was 20 years old and felt disgusted with my body.
“But looking after a newborn was exhausting, so I resorted to scoffing cheese and biscuits.
“In the evenings, I’d order a Chinese takeaway.”
Four months later, Alice was a size 24 and 17 stone.
When Alice suffered a miscarriage in 2006, she decided to change her life by joining a local slimming club.
After cutting back her calories to just 800 a day and avoiding fast food and eating out, she lost six stone in six months.
And this didn't change when she fell pregnant with her second son, George.
By November 2011, Alice's weight had hit a tiny 7st 9lbs and this began having concerning impacts on her health.
Alice recalled: “I thought she was being too cautious but Patrick warned me I was getting too thin.
“That Christmas, I huddled on the sofa surrounded by blankets with the heating on full blast.
“My hair was falling out and my cheekbones jutted out of my face.
“As I watched my boys playing, too exhausted to join in, I realised that I’d taken my dieting too far.
“I knew if I carried on, I’d leave my children without a mum and panic set in.”
This realisation was enough to make Alice realise that she needed to adopt a more balanced diet plan.
Even though she stuck to healthy meals, she upped her portion sizes so she wasn't starving herself.
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Now, the mum-of-two weighs a healthy 10 stone 7lbs and is a slim size 10.
She said: “It wasn’t easy but, with my hubby’s support, I slowly became a size 10 again.
“I’m finally happy with my body and love going for walks with my boys.
“It’s scary how my weight fluctuated from one extreme to the other.
“But I’m just pleased that I’m healthy for my children.
“Food controlled my life – I’ll never let that happen again.”
Yo-yo dieting can be harmful for those hoping to get fit.
A recent study said that these crash fads were MORE risky than staying fat - trebling your risk of sudden death.
And our bodies' survival instincts mean that these diets often don't work.
