Now this deserves attention! Army wife loses EIGHT STONE while husband served in Afghanistan – and he didn't recognise her on his return

Annika dropped from 16st 10lbs and size 24, to 9st 7lbs and size 8

Turned to food as comfort when husband Jamie was on tour

During his third trip to Afghanistan Annika lost nearly 8 stone in 7 months

Jamie barely recognised his wife when she came to meet him at the airport



An Army wife who lost almost eight stone in weight underwent such a dramatic transformation her husband didn't recognise her when he returned from a tour of duty.

Annika Price, 28, from Didcot, Oxfordshire began to gain weight when her husband Jamie, 32, was sent to Afghanistan, reaching size 24 and weighing almost 17 stone

The mother-of-two turned to food as comfort and would spend her evenings eating takeaways in front of the television and snacking on chocolate and biscuits.

Annika Price, 28, from Didcot, dropped from 16st 10lbs (left) and size 24, to 9st 7lbs and size 8 in 7 months Annika with husband Jamie, who didn't recognise her after her transformation when he returned from Afghanistan

Annika holds up her old size 24 trousers, having now dropped an incredible 7 stone 10lbs

When Jamie was sent to Afghanistan for the third time Annika decided to address her escalating weight.

She was shocked to find that she weighed a 16 stone 10lbs, overweight for her 5ft 3 frame with a BMI of 41.

Annika said: 'I was sick of being a fat mum and a fat wife. Jamie is so fit due to his Army training and I was so out of shape it was embarrassing.

'I needed to shed the weight so I could be proud when I stood next to him and when we went to the Army balls together.'

'It was now or never. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life unhappy and I was so fat and miserable.'

Annika started to gain weight after the birth of her children Charlie, 6, and Bobby, 3, and continued to comfort eat to cope with Jamie being away.

Annikia used to dread taking her children swimming due to her size Annika used to spend her time snacking and eating takeaways in front of the television She said: 'My boys love swimming but I used to dread taking them because I hated squeezing my large body into a swimsuit. 'It got to the point where I was fed up of being a fat mum at the school gates and at the swimming pool. 'I found it really hard with Jamie being away and I turned to food as my comfort. 'When the boys had gone to bed I would stay up snacking on anything naughty which I could get my hands on. 'I was sick of being a fat mum and a fat wife' Annika says Annikia began to comfort eat when husband Jamie was away on tours of duty but on his third trip to Afghanistan she decided to address the problem and lose weight as a surprise for him

'I only had the tv and the fridge for company. 'Losing the weight was the best thing I ever did, and although the first week was incredibly hard, once I got used to it the weight began to drop off.' Annika now wears a size 8-10 and weighs a healthy nine-and-a-half stone. She decided lose the weight in secret while Jamie was away to surprise him, and incredibly managed to reach her goal in just seven months. Annika, said: 'I missed Jamie so much but I wanted to surprise him with a 'new wife' when he came back from the Army- that was my motivation.' Shedding seven-and-a-half stone in just seven months, Annika went from a size 24 to a svelte size 8-10 on the Cambridge Weight Plan. One of her motivations for losing the weight was to look glamorous next to Jamie at Army balls and events



Jamie barely recognised his wife when he returned from his last tour and they came to meet him

She said: 'I had tried every diet on the planet to lose the weight and none of them ever worked.

'I decided to give the Cambridge Plan a go and found it really worked for me. I would have three products from the plan per day, and no snacking. It was usually porridge, plus some soups and shakes.'

Annika's new slimline figure made her look so different Jamie didn't even recognise his wife when she met him at the airport after seven months apart.

She said: 'I bought a slinky new outfit and high heeled boots- an outfit I would never have had the confidence to wear before. I used to hide my big shape behind baggy clothes.

'I was waiting for Jamie in the airport with the boys and when he first came through arrivals, he walked straight past me.

'He did a double take and recognised the boys first, and then realised it was me. He was gobsmacked but delighted that I was finally happy with my appearance.'

She said: 'My husband was doing something I was so proud of and I wanted him to be proud of me too.

'I knew he loved me anyway, but he is just so pleased that I am now happy with myself.

'My sons have really noticed a difference as well as I have so much more energy and I am actually proud to go swimming with the boys as I am not worried about being a fat mum at the side of the pool.'