A WOMAN has shed an amazing six stone and nine and half pounds in under 18 months.

Natalie Moxey, 31, from Evesham struggled with her weight for many years which left her depressed, self-conscious and struggling to be the mum she wanted to be for her children.

Mrs Moxey had reached size 22 before she joined Slimming World in January 2016, starting her dieting path.

She had always battled with weight issues, stretching back as far as her teen years but things spiralled after she got married in August 2011.

At 18 stone 9.5lbs, Natalie would either skip breakfast or eat sugary cereal and have a sandwich, crisps and chocolate for lunch, followed by huge portions of ready-meal style food for dinner.

She also bought takeaways sometimes up to four or five times a week: "During the day, I wasn’t that bad, but at night, I’d come and just sit and eat and eat.

"It was never just a takeaway either – it’d be followed by ice cream, or chocolate, or popcorn. I’d snack constantly and blame it on being tired."

Throughout 2015 Natalie tried various different methods of losing weight to try and combat her body and mental issues but nothing ever stuck and she was soon back in to her vicious cycle of comfort eating.

However things came to a head in December 2015 when after seeing an advert on Facebook for a new Slimming World group that was opening in January 2016 she decided it was time to make a change for good.

"When I first stepped in to group I was terrified. I didn’t lift my head, barely spoke and was dreading the whole thing but what I discovered in the next hour and a half was a group of people who were genuinely friendly, compassionate and wanted me to succeed.

"As I weighed in for the first time I was waiting for the gasp of horror. It never came. What did happen is I was told I could pick my own target. "No pressure to be a certain size. Whatever it was that would make me happy. For the first time in a long time I felt in control of my own destiny."

She added: "For years I felt that the world was against me and every time I put my head above the parapet I would be shot back down.

"But I have learnt over the past 20 months that you have to stop making excuses for yourself and take control - for yourself, not for anyone else.

"I am doing things I never thought I would, or could. Before I could barely walk but now I run regular 5ks and enjoy exercising at local fitness groups. "I can chase around after my boys without having to worry about not keeping up, or getting stuck on a slide."

She is launching her own Slimming World group at 9:30am on Saturday 12th August, at De Montfort High School (formerly Evesham High School). For more information call 07791674678.