A YEAR ago Lauren Lilly couldn’t walk more than 400 metres without getting out of breath and her legs rubbing together, leaving her with sores.

Having struggled with her weight since childhood, Lauren weighed in at 11st 7lbs and was squeezing into size 16s that she says were ‘obviously too small’ for her when she joined her local Slimming World group in a last ditch attempt to get her life back on track after rapidly gaining weight when six family members passed away within the space of a year.

But now, she is a svelte size 6 after losing 3st 3lbs in just four-and-a-half months, and, the girl who previously never exercised and ‘only walked to work or the shop to buy chocolate’, has even completed the Southampton Half Marathon.

“I unfortunately lost two uncles, three aunties and my godmother,” says the 25-year-old. “Obviously all the deaths are difficult to deal with but my Great Auntie Norma passing away was the one that sent everything spiralling out of control. “We were extremely close and I had spent everyday round her house after school with her since childhood - she was like a second grandmother and would fuss over me and my sister something chronic. The loss of my lovely Godmother Ness also hit me extremely hard as her death was very unexpected - she was healthy and young and on top of all the other deaths we had experienced it was too much so I used food to cope with my grief.

“But my trigger moment came when I found myself walking to my local convenience store to get my usual comfort snacks of a large family sized bar of chocolate, a giant bottle of cola, jelly sweets and ice-cream.

“I walked in and saw that the same man who had been serving me for the past week was serving, and I was so embarrassed I couldn’t bring myself to buy anything.

“I ended up walking to the next convenience store to get my snacks and that’s when I realised I had a serious problem and dependence on food. I saw my mum later that day and broke down in tears - I was in desperate need of help and knew that if I didn’t get it soon things would be even worse.”

The final straw came when her parents voiced their concerns at how unhappy she seemed. She knew she had to change.

“At my heaviest I was living as a virtual recluse,” she says. “I was too scared to visit family members out of fear they would mention my weight and I spent most of my time sat alone on the sofa until it was time to go to work in the evening.

“It was a real wake up call. I realised I needed to help myself and ditch the weight once and for all.”

Lauren, having tried several other diets on her own to no success was naturally worried about joining another slimming group.

“It took me a while to pluck up the courage to walk through the door - I felt really ashamed at admitting I had a problem and was terrified that I would be judged, ridiculed or not accepted by the group, but when I walked through the doors my fears were instantly relieved. I was greeted by several smiling faces and my consultant made it clear that she and the group would be there to support me every step of the way. I knew then that the care and support of the group was going to be vital to my lasting success - everyone understood exactly what I was going through and there was no judgement or humiliation, only genuine empathy for what I was experiencing.”

Prior to joining her group Lauren’s diet consisted of large bowls of sugar coated cereals for breakfast, chocolate, fizzy drinks, sweets and ice-cream for lunch and fish and chips or pizza smothered in ketchup for dinner. Snacks were more chocolate, cream cakes and crisps.

Now, a typical day sees her eat porridge topped with fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, jacket potato with beans and salad for lunch and chicken breast stuffed with cheese and bacon and served with Slimming World chips, mushrooms, broccoli and home-made barbecue sauce for dinner. She snacks on fruit and still enjoys her favourite Jaffa Cakes and Mini Milk ice-creams most days.

Initially Lauren was sceptical of how much she could eat and was delighted when she lost 4.5lbs in her first week.

“It was like a light-bulb moment. Once I realised I could still eat generous quantities of real food and lose weight it made things seem much more achievable. I cook a lot more now and prefer to make my own pizzas, but the best thing is I can still enjoy Ice-Cream!”

And Lauren, who has just opened her own group at the Freemantle Seventh Day Adventist Church meeting at 5.30pm, has a whole new outlook on life.

“My life has changed beyond all recognition,” she says. “I no longer spend my time hiding out of fear and have a new found confidence. Where once I couldn’t walk very far without getting out of breath I’m now a passionate runner and enjoy competing in local road races and obstacle mud runs. I have also signed up for my first marathon next year.

“If I hadn’t lost weight, I have no doubt that I would still be sat struggling on the sofa, but instead I am setting myself personal running goals and achieving things I once never thought possible and I’m really looking forward to helping others achieve their own goals too.”

l For more information, contact Lauren on 07708601786 or visit: slimmingworld.com.