Life changed for young mum-of-two when she became super slimmer

We all want to make our kids proud so when Liz Bradley heard what other school children were saying to her daughter, Jessica, nine, it hit her hard.

"She came home from school upset, and wouldn't talk to me," Liz says.

"Eventually, she told me that other kids had teased her because I was overweight."

The mum-of-two says she tried to avoid her weight issues before this incident.

"Kids tell you the truth. When you're overweight, you just ignore it," she says.

"It makes you realise and face up to it."

Fast forward to three years later and the svelte 28-year-old smiling at the camera has lost her weight worries – not to mention 6st 10lb – and gained bags full of confidence.

After the wake-up call from her daughter Liz joined a Slimming World club and change her entire lifestyle.

At her biggest, Liz was a size 22 and admits she was stuck in a vicious circle.

"In some ways I probably was depressed," she says.

When Liz and her husband Craig first met 11 years ago, she was always out, spending weekends with lots of friends.

But as her size grew, she felt so self-conscious in public she avoided leaving the house.

"My confidence completely went," says Liz, of Bransholme.

"I didn't take pride in my appearance anymore, I used to be quite a 'girly girl'.

"I didn't want to go out for a meal with my husband, I'd just make excuses."

It was the same story with her daughters, Jessica and seven-year-old Sophie. If they wanted to go out for a bike ride, she would say she had a backache.

Even a run-of-the-mill trip to the supermarket would fill her with fear.

"I was probably paranoid. I thought people were looking at me and looking into my trolley," Liz says.

Since she slimmed down from 17st 3lbs, the whole family have noticed a change and are ecstatic about Liz's newfound confidence.

Before, on a Friday night she'd just sit in watching telly, eating a curry, but now Liz and husband Craig, 31, go out to restaurants and go to the pictures – when there is a babysitter on hand.

Simple pleasures, like going to East Park with the kids and kicking a football in front of the house, are no longer an issue.

"I've even been to Alton Towers," the mother-of-two says.

"I've always wanted to go, I used to love going on fast rides at Hull Fair but I was scared that I wouldn't fit in the seats or they'd ask my weight, and now that's not a worry."

It wasn't just that she was overweight, she was unhealthy.

When Liz attempted to run a lap of a running track, she managed 50m then fell to her knees, out of breath.

"I was eating takeaways twice a week and I'd have about six biscuits with a cup of tea every day," she said.

Liz, who is now a dinner lady, says that her first pregnancy led to her weight gain, and things just got worse from there.

She fell pregnant at 18 and was struggling more than she let on, putting on 5st with her first daughter, Jessica, then 2st with her second child, seven-year-old Sophie.

"I want to put the message across to women that you don't have to eat for two while your pregnant," she says.

Liz was worried her eating patterns would rub off on her daughters and family meals would mainly consist of frozen chips.

"They probably would have picked up my eating habits," Liz says.

"Slimming World has really educated me.

"Before all we ate was processed foods and would only have vegetables once a week."

Now she makes everything from scratch, including chilli con carne and spaghetti bolognese.

The group support has made all the difference to her.

"We're like a lovely little family," she says.

Liz attends Slimming World at the Bransholme Centre Methodist Church, 7pm on Tuesday. Visit www.slimming world.com