A MUM was so horrified to spot "back boobs" when being fitted for a bridesmaid dress it shocked her into shedding eight stone.
It came days after Sharna Skevington had posed next to an elephant on an African safari but felt humiliated by her size next to the beast.
The embarrassing fitting was the final straw for Sharna, who had gained weight after suffering post-natal depression following the birth of her daughter Elsie, now three.
Her anxiety was so severe that she refused to let her partner or her sister touch the baby – fearing that something bad would happen as a result.
She eventually got help for her depression and has now gone from 21 stone to 13 by following the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan.
Sharna, 28, says: “I look back at those photos and I cringe. The African trip was supposed to be so special; I was meeting my partner’s family for the first time. But it was ruined by my weight.
“We’re planning to return to Africa later this year, and I can’t wait to show off my new figure.”
The mum had been overweight as a child and by the time she was 15 she weighed 15 stone. She was shy and suffered anxiety about her weight.
By the time she met her partner, Ivan, in 2014, she weighed over 19 stone.
Sharna said: “Ivan is very supportive. He doesn’t carry weight but he loves me no matter what size I am. I managed to lose three stone after we met.”
Their daughter, Elsie, was born in February 2017 and though she adored motherhood, Sharna suffered with crippling post-natal depression.
Sharna said: “I was convinced something bad would happen to my baby. I wanted everything to be perfect for her to the extent that I didn’t want my partner or my sister to touch her, because I had premonitions that something really bad would happen.
“I had to pack the nappy bag myself and have everything in the right place. I was obsessive.
“I was eating to comfort myself; I would plough through snacks and chocolate and I just didn’t know when to stop. It was like being at a buffet all day; I ate party food all the time.
“My mum eventually insisted that I saw a doctor and when Elsie was nine months old, I started to get some help.”
But by now, Sharna weighed over 21 stone.
We’re planning to return to Africa later this year, and I can’t wait to show off my new figure.
In December 2019, she and Ivan and Elsie went on a month long holiday to Africa, where she met his family for the first time.
Sharna said: “It ought to have been a wonderful occasion but I really struggled with my size, especially in the heat, and I felt ashamed of myself.
“When I saw the photos I was mortified. There was one of me with an elephant and it really upset me.”
When she got home, Sharna was due to be bridesmaid for her sister, Leah. But at a fitting, her size 18 bridesmaid dress would not zip up and she was left with ‘back boobs.’
Sharna said: “It looked exactly like I had boobs on my back. I was so embarrassed. I realised I couldn’t go on like this.
“Elsie was running around by now and I was too out of breath to play with her and to carry her up the stairs. I had to change for her sake too.”
Sharna began following the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan and has to date lost seven stone. She has dropped from a dress size 26 to a size 14 and has lost an incredible 56 inches around her body.
She said: “I’m quite a shy person and it was quite a tough step to take. But it has paid off more than I could ever have hoped. People don’t even recognise me these days!
Sharna has now trained as a consultant herself for the diet company and is inspiring others with her success story.
Later this year, she and Ivan are planning a return trip to Africa, which Sharna hopes will erase the memories of the first one.
Sharna said: “The best feeling is to be proud of myself, as a mum. I want to be able to run around after Elsie and show her that it’s so important to stay healthy and fit.”
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