How I Lost 30lbs In 5 Months ♥

Wearing a size 14 dress, baring my arms and not covering up. I dreamed of wearing pretty summer dresses for year and now I'm finally able to without feeling self-conscious.

One day, back in December, I was struggling to find something to wear for the day... struggling because nothing fit. I looked at all the beautiful clothes I had in my wardrobe and felt quite sad. "It's time to get rid of them" - I said to myself, "I will always be this size now", and that size was a size 20 - 18 if the fabric was quite generous in fit.

I packed up my lovely, long-neglected dresses and popped them in the charity bin, resigning myself to the fact that I would probably live the rest of my days in black leggings, long black cardigans and baggy dresses to cover myself up.

January 26th versus June 28th. I think the biggest difference has been to my face and legs.

Five months later and a lot has changed. Most importantly, I'm a much happier person that I was back in December. I'm also a much more confident person. I'm also I much lighter and healthier person, having lost a total of 30lbs since January and building up muscle instead of fat.

In these five months I have accomplished things I thought I never would do again. For the first time in over 10 years I joined a gym and have been exercising on an almost daily basis. I actually love the gym, it's my 'me time' and although I find the cardio tough, I know that it's doing me good both in my weight loss efforts and my internal health too. I love lifting weights and push myself to do more and more each time.

In five months I have gone from having little to no arm strength to building up muscle in my arms and being able to lift 40kg weights - I started at 5kg and even that was a struggle. In 5 months I've gone from struggling to do 1k in cardio in one gym session to doing 10k. I have built up stamina and strength and I'm feeling so much better for it - one day I might even have the courage to run a road race.

In five months I've gone from a size 18/20 to a size 14/16 and as I sit here in my size 14 summer dress, bare legged with no long, baggy cardigan to cover me up, I can't quite believe that I'm the same person.

You see this journey isn't just about weight loss for me, it was about repairing my mental health and clawing back some of that happy, confident and outgoing person I used to be.

I'm inspired by people who are completely happy within in their own bodies, no matter what their size, but having been both a slim size 10 and a large size 20, I can safely say that being overweight is not for me.

I wasn't just overweight, I was obese. Morbidly obese. My face looked as though it had been pumped up and I had an extra chin, my boobs almost reached my chin they were so large and if I lay down they were almost suffocating me, my knees clicked because of the weight I was putting on them each and everyday and my skin grew stretchmarks absolutely everywhere from all the weight I was putting on.

 A picture of me taken by my darling eldest son. I'm wearing a swimsuit on a beach in my local town and am actually happy about it. I'm not missing out anymore.

As well as the physical struggles, there were the internal ones too. I had no confidence at all. I wanted to hide every inch of my body away and covered up completely - even on the hottest of days. I wouldn't be seen dead in a pair of swimming togs and felt as though I couldn't join in with my children with their fun and games. No one but family members ever commented on my weight, but still, I was completely unhappy with myself and how I felt others viewed me.

On January 23rd I met a health coach as part of my collaboration with Laya Healthcare and I also joined the gym. Going there for the first time was nerve-racking to say the least, but I stuck with it and now I couldn't care less who sees me sweating my ass off. I'm seeing results and am delighted I began on this journey.

I've had a complete lifestyle overhaul. I now eat healthier than I ever did - I still enjoy treats, I just know when to stop gorging on them now. I shun processed food in favour of freshly prepared meals and my digestive system is so much happier for it.

I actually eat fruit now, having avoided it for years. I don't drink any fizzy drinks apart from Coke Zero and my portion sizes are a lot smaller than they used to be.

I'm now able to wear a sports bra and not feel as though I'm going to pop out of it! I'm slowly building up some ab lines on my stomach again too - something I haven't had since my teenage years!

In the gym I aim for 8k of cardio and 800 weight reps each session, although today I built that up to 10k and 1000 reps. The quicker I get through my workout the more distance and amount I will add. I'm pushing myself and am enjoying testing my body to it's limits. I still have my 'problem area's - legs and stomach, but they're shrinking, slowly.

I've realised that I can be anyone I want to be and that I'm able to reach my goals if I put in the effort. For years I was so unhappy with myself and thought I would always be that way, but now I'm so proud of how far I've come and am looking forward to seeing what more I can achieve.

I just wish I had put in the effort sooner and became my happier and healthier self a long time before now, but I've arrived, finally and am so much better off for it.