We lost 27 STONE by ditching Coca-Cola and Fanta from our diet

EVERYBODY knows that soft drinks can wreak havoc on our health... not to mention our waistlines.

And earlier this week, Emmerdale actress Laura Norton revealed that she has lost three stone by ditching her daily Coke fix.

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Turns out, the television star is not alone.

Here three British women have opened up about their soft drink addiction which left them all downing litres and litres of the sweet stuff on a daily basis.

Since cutting the soft drinks all together, the the former soft drink addicts have been left looking and feeling better than ever,

If these stories don't inspire you to cut back on the Coke, we don't know what will...

Sarah Croxall, 33, has lost almost HALF her body weight since ditching her 1.5 litres of Coke a day...

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A SIZE 26 mum-of-two who binged on so many cans of coke that she drank almost 1.5KILOS of sugar every week has lost a whopping 11 stone after ditching her pop addiction.

Sarah Croxall, 33, ballooned to a size 26 after guzzling 1.5 litres of Coke a day – but after ditching her unhealthy addiction the 22st 3lbs mum of two dropped almost half her body weight.

The carer used to consume 3,000 calories a day, chowing down on hot dog sandwiches or tinned meatballs on toast for breakfast and would go through 1,365 grams of sugar a week from her daily Coke habit.

Sarah's wake-up call came when she had to 'the walk of shame' at Thorpe Park in June 2012 because she couldn’t fit into a rollercoaster seat.

Sarah decided it was time for a change... and the Coke was first to go.

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Sarah, from Poole, Dorset, said: “I drank Coke all through my 20s. I had it every day and it was my go-to treat. I didn’t think I would ever be able to cut it out.

“When I decided to make the change it was extremely hard at first but I wouldn’t go back now. I don’t even enjoy it anymore. I think the taste of it is awful.

“I have struggled with my weight ever since I was a child. As the years went on I just got bigger and bigger."

After the Thorpe Park trip, Sarah also received a text from a concerned relative who urged her to join Slimming World to help her drop the pounds.

Sarah said: “I knew I had to make a difference for myself. My family were really worried about me. When I look back now I just wonder what I was thinking.

“My kids [Joey, 13, and Holly, 11] are so important to me but I couldn’t do a lot with them. It broke my heart. I couldn’t play with them.

"It was hard when they asked to go somewhere and I had to say no because of my weight.”

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In March 2013 Sarah was also diagnosed with a rare brain condition, called idiopathic intracranial hypertension, that left her in agony due to increased pressure on her brain.

Doctors told her that losing weight could help reduce the symptoms, which included strong headaches, neck ache and black outs.

After losing 11st 9lbs and dropping down to a size 10, Sarah's symptoms have since reduced and her confidence has grown giving her a new lease of life.

In June this year Sarah reached her target weight of 10st 8lbs after ditching her Coca-Cola habit and admits she doesn’t even like the taste of the fizzy drink anymore.

Sarah said: “It has 100% been life changing. I would never have been able to do the things that I do now if I was still at that weight. It has made a massive impact on my life which is brilliant.

"It is such a crazy feeling going into any shop now and being able to pick up clothes that I never thought I could wear and try them on.

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She added: "I could only ever shop in Evans before. I was so restricted with what I could wear. I was always covering up and I spent my life in black clothing.

"I have been wearing a lot more colour now, which is crazy. It has been a big change for me. It feels incredible. I am a lot more confident now.

Janet Sandberg, 48, drank two litres of Fanta almost everyday for two years but cut out the sweet drink after her father was diagnosed with diabetes...

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HAVING swapped pop for water and overhauling her entire diet, she has lost 6st, dropping from a size 18 to a svelte size 8.

“I was always big, coming from West Indian background, eating large portions of food, snacking on sweets and crisps, and drinking only Fanta – no tea, coffee or water, just Fanta. At school I was given the nickname ‘Jan Bull’ because I was the size of an ox.

The turning point was in 2015 when my dad, Leason, was hospitalized with diabetes.

He was 91 and had survived off greasy takeaways and sugar.

He was in so much pain towards the end. When he finally died in the September I felt my world had fallen apart.

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I went for a free over-40s health check and while I didn’t have diabetes then I knew it could only be a matter of time.

My cholesterol was shy-high and I was grossly overweight.

I knew if I didn’t change my ways I’d die young.

So I started following the Rosemary Conly online course, where the focus was on portion sizes and lifestyle changes, no crash diets.

The 321 diet meant I had 800 calories for two days a week, then the other days I could eat normally, but making healthy food swaps like baked rather than roast potatoes.

And straight away I cut out the Fanta, which was hard for a few days, but within a week I slept so much better and had so much more energy.

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Within four months, by March last year, I noticed my clothes getting baggy and people started complimenting me.

I didn’t obsess over weighing myself, but knew I wanted to lose a total of 6 stone, going down to 12 stone.

I was just happy feeling healthy for the first time in living memory.

Every time I had a bad moment, I’d remember my dad lying in hospital and promise him I wouldn’t give up.

I also started doing exercise videos in our living room, which were great fun – I never wanted to be part of a weight loss club or go to a gym, this was a battle I wanted to fight on my own.

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By last August I’d lost all the weight and felt so proud of myself. I weigh less now than I weighed when I was 13! I’m still grieving my dad, but know how much he’d love to see what I’ve achieved.

I seriously don’t miss the Fanta one bit – it’s like a bad dream when I think back to the mountain of sugar I used to drink.

Emma Blakeley's daily 6 LITRES of coke caused her to balloon to a size 28...

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Emma Blakeley, a 24-year-old livery yard worker from Elgin near Inverness, drank 6 litres of coke every day, ballooning up to almost 23 stone.

“I’ve worn extra-large adult size clothes since I was 13 and honestly can’t ever remember not being huge.

I left school at 16 and started working in a livery yard, where I decided I’d try to lose weight by drinking only liquid until I finished work – the problem was that was coke, averaging 6 litres of the stuff a day.

I’d leave work starving, grab a massive McDonald’s meal on the way home, then eat a massive meal my mum had made, followed by countless bags of crisps and chocolate in front of the telly.

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I met my boyfriend Neil when I was 18 when my confidence was rock-bottom, but he inspired me to lose weight by dropping three stone with Scottish Slimmers.

If he was eating healthily at home, I might as well join him, I thought, and went to my first Scottish Slimmers meeting in November 2014.

I weighed in at 22st 11.5lbs and was a whale-like size 28.

The approach was perfect for me. It was a lifestyle change, cooking from fresh ingredients, reducing fat and sugar intake, gradually increasing activity levels – and nothing was out of bounds, so you never felt deprived.

I found it remarkably easy to ditch my coke for water, pretty much overnight – my skin looked better, I had more energy and slept like a baby.

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A few months later, in February 2015, Neil proposed and I felt like this was the best goal ever, to lose more weight before our big day.

I knew I couldn’t ever be a fat bride. The weight kept coming off, my energy levels rocketed and within two years of starting I’d lost over 10 stone!

I’ve had to have my engagement ring re-sized five times because it kept falling off.

Neil and I have set next August as our wedding date, and I’m so incredibly excited.

I’ve even been dress shopping with my mum and picked out a dress I’d never in a million years have thought I could ever fit into.

I just remember me and mum hugging and sobbing when we looked in the mirror at what I’d achieved.

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I’ve even started a new career myself, running Scottish Slimmer classes.

I hope I’m an inspiration to them and I stress to my members repeatedly – don’t focus only on the numbers on the scale, think what a pound of fat looks like and begin to realise how well you have done.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I used to hate being the centre of attention. My only regret is not having ditched the coke and all my other horrible habits sooner.";

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