Mum loses four stone after realising she ‘looked like a whale’ in water slide holiday snaps
Single mum Annie didn't recognise herself in the pictures
A HORRIFIED mum was spurred into losing weight after seeing a picture of herself on a water slide with her son... and fearing she looked like a WHALE.
Moved to action by the sight of her flabby arms and multiple chins, Annie Taylor, 24, from Dorset, vowed to lose weight.
She's now shed four stone and can't believe how much she's changed.
She said: “I looked like a whale. I’ve got loads of chins.
"I could barely recognise that fat woman as me. It was a real wake-up call.”
Single Annie, a production assistant, had been on holiday in Turkey in July 2015, with her son, Thomas, six, who had started calling her "fat".
For most of her adult life, Annie was a slim 10 stone.
But she gained three-and-a-half stone in just two years as she battled depression, gorging on pizza, fast food, sandwiches and chocolate.
Annie would skip breakfast and so be so hungry by lunchtime she's stuff herself with sandwiches, cake, crisps and chocolate.
She's also put away a takeaway, followed by a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
“I’d eat until I felt sick, until I couldn’t move," she admitted.
After passing her driving test and leaving her job, Annie no longer walked everywhere.
Her eating habits became worse too and it wasn't long before she tipped the scales at a 13 stone 7lbs, making her feel even more depressed.
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“My weight gain made me feel worthless, I couldn’t talk to anyone and didn’t feel like me,"; she said.
“I’d hide my flabby body in leggings and long tops."
Even worse, Annie couldn't be open about her feelings around her skinnier friends.
“I didn’t think anyone would listen, because I was a big, ugly person," she said.
The mum was even too self concussions to join in games with her son on holiday, and at a size 18 she couldn't help feeling envious of her slimmer friends.
"I hated being around slim people," she said. “Social situations were difficult, because I felt so self-conscious."
Even her son would joke about her large belly and bum.
The wake-up call she needed was seeing herself on the water slide with multiple chins.
And, at 5ft 3ins her BMI of 33.4 meant she was at risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
In October 2015 Annie joined Slimming World and has since lost three stone and 11lbs and now weighs a svelte nine stone 10lbs.
“I feel so much better now, I feel more like myself. I even managed to fit into a size eight dress!" she said.
“I hate looking at pictures of myself when I was fat.
“I used to be the fat bridesmaid. Now I’m the skinny one!”