A Norfolk woman who realised she was not able to fully enjoy being a mum due to her weight shed nearly half her body weight in two and a half years after joining Slimming World.
Joanne Appleby, 36, from Methwold, near Thetford, said missing out on playing with her son in the park made her realise that the time for change had come.
She said: 'It was for my son because I didn't get involved in anything at the park because I couldn't physically do that and I didn't want that and I really wanted to get involved.
'I had always been quite big anyway and it had got worse as I got older. It just got to the point where it was affecting my relationship with my son and I decided to change my life.'
When Mrs Appleby joined she weighed 23st 1lb, and the moment of walking through the doors of the Slimming World group in Lakenheath was nerve-racking.
She said: 'The nerves about walking through the door soon vanished as I was greeted with such warmth and friendliness, they made me feel at ease straight away, and I knew I had made the right decision.
'I was nervous about feeling hungry the first week but I soon realised just how much I could eat by food optimising correctly and I lost eight pounds in my first week.'
Now at a healthy 12st 12.5lb, Mrs Appleby has become more active, completing a couch to five kilometre programme earlier this year and running the Race for Life.
She's also able to play with her son in the way she had always wished she could.
She said: 'I am a lot fitter now. I do a lot more exercise which I didn't do before.
'Being able to play with my son is amazing. You always have a relationship with your son but to be able to join in and do those things and not get the 'why can't you do that' and everything now being a race to do things and to have that loving relationship is brilliant.'
Following her weight loss success, the part time office administrator will soon open her own brand new Slimming World group in Thetford.
She said: 'It is amazing, I can't wait.
'My advice would be for people to be brace and walk through the doors and do it because it can change your life forever and it really has changed mine, the rewards are just out of this world.'
The new group opens on Saturday, January 5, at the Charles Burrell Centre at 8.30am.
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