Mum Tanya's amazing six stone weight loss

Mother-of-two Tanya (25) admitted she would eat four takeaways a week as her weight crept up to more than 17 stone after having her second son.

But then she decided she needed to change her life - and has shed the weight and got a new vocation.

“I’ve always been a big girl and struggled with my weight. It first started when I had my first son in 2013 and I was 18 stone and decided to start Slimming World,” said Tanya, who lives near Turf Moor.

“I lost two stone but then stopped going.

“In April 2014, I tried again and got down to 11st 7lb but then I fell pregnant with my second son and stopped smoking.

“During this pregnancy, in order to take away the cravings for smoking, I started to eat more. I was eating at least four takeaways a week and I knew the weight was creeping on but I thought I’d make the most of it as it was more acceptable to be big while pregnant.”

Tanya, who went to St John’s Primary school in Padiham and St Augustine’s RC High School in Whalley, had put on six stone through her last pregnancy and realised she needed to lose weight for herself and her two sons.

“It was beyond a joke and I wanted to be healthy for my children.

“So in March 2015, two days after having my baby, I started my lifestyle change with a Slimming World diet. My starting weight was 17st 8lb and I was a size 20/22.

“Now 14 months on, I weigh 11st 4lb and I’m a size eight/10. I do swim for an hour a week but it’s more about the food change.

“I decided to do a blog because people kept asking me what I was eating so I thought I would blog about everything I eat so that people can get some ideas.

“I also post daily recipes and have just started up a YouTube channel doing recipe tutorials.

“When I started my journey I was severely overweight and unemployed.

“Fourteen months on, I’m in the best shape I have ever been in and I now work for myself doing blogging and YouTube tutorials, so its opened up a new career path for me.

“I feel I can inspire others by proving that, no matter how busy you are, it can still work.

“I now work and have two small children aged four and one and I still find time to cook and stick to a plan. I’m living proof if you want something badly enough, you won’t stop until you have achieved it.”

Tanya’s blog is “Tanyas slimming world journey” on Facebook and her YouTube channel is also “tanyas slimming world journey.”