A former chocolate addict who used to gorge on more than 1,000 family-sized bars a year has shed an astonishing ten stone after giving up her favourite treats.

Amy Keable, a 30-year-old support worker from Southampton, tipped the scales at 21st by her 27th birthday and would spend all her spare change on junk food.

But after finally ditching her unhealthy habit because she refused to ring in her 30th birthday as a size 24, Amy lost half her bodyweight and is now 10st 13lbs and a trim size 10.

Amy Keable, a 30-year-old support worker from Southampton, weighed a whopping 21st (left) but after ditching her chocolate habit, she lost lost half her bodyweight and is now 10st 13lbs (right)

Amy, pictured at 21st, decided she didn't want to reach her 30th birthday as a size 24, so decided to give up on her unhealthy eating habits

Amy said: 'I started overeating when I was around 11 and as soon as I started a pot-washing job at the age of 14, I was spending around £5 a day on junk food like KitKats and Twix bars.

'By the time I was 18, I was 16st and working as a kitchen assistant in Morrisons.

'My uniform got tighter and tighter as I stuffed myself with leftover food. During meals with family and friends, I’d always nick their leftovers too.'

As Amy’s dress size increased, her confidence dropped and she became conscious of her size.

'I refused to sit down because I was worried about breaking chairs with my enormous size,' she admits.

Amy, pictured at 18st, said she would hide her insecurities about her weight behind her bubbly personality

Amy, pictured (left) on holiday at her heaviest and (right) as she is now, would spend all her spare change on junk food - guzzling up to three family-sized chocolate bars a day

'My most embarrassing moment was at Thorpe Park when I was 21 - I had to leave a ride because the safety belt wouldn’t fit across my belly. I fled in tears and was mortified that people would be judging me.'

Sometimes the only time I left the house was to buy chocolate

But the humiliation did little to curb Amy’s love for junk food.

'Sometimes I’d wake up with chocolate wrappers under my duvet and realise I’d eaten chocolate during the night - but couldn’t remember doing it,' she recalls.

'My weight ballooned as I got older and at 26, I weighed 21st and was a size 24.

Amy confesses she would use all of her spare change on her favourite treats.

'I would count all of my pennies so I could feed my addiction and sometimes the only time I left the house was to buy chocolate,' she said.

'I hated how I looked but my addiction overpowered my self-confidence.'

'Sometimes I’d wake up with chocolate wrappers under my duvet and realise I’d eaten chocolate during the night - but couldn’t remember doing it,' recalls Amy, pictured aged 26

Amy, pictured at her heaviest weighing 21st left and right, revealed she once fled a Thorpe Park ride 'in tears' because the safety belt wouldn't fit over her stomach

Eventually, doctors diagnosed Amy, pictured aged 16 and a size 18, with a hiatus hernia caused by her unhealthy diet, where her stomach had pushed into her diaphragm

At the height of her addiction, Amy was eating 1,095 family-sized chocolate bars a year, around three a day.

A family-sized bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, for example, contains 1,060 calories, so three would be 3,180 calories - well over the recommended intake of 2,000 a day for women, and that's before other meals.

Amy would hide her insecurities about her weight behind her bubbly personality.

She said: 'I went out partying with my friends most weekends and used the alcohol for confidence.

'Guys would hit on me for a joke with their friends - it crushed me and I’d go home and cry.'

Amy also had to cope with people hurling insults at her in the street, such as, 'Who ate all of the pies?'

Amy, pictured (left) before and (right) after losing weight by giving up her chocolate bar habit and junk food, said that she didn't think her weight mattered as 'My friends told me I had a pretty face'

She said she would party and use alcohol to give her confidence, pictured at Royal Ascot weighing 21st

Amy, pictured at the age of 14 weighing 15st 7lbs, started overeating when she was around 11 and by the the age of 14, she was spending £5 a day on junk food like KitKats and Twix bars

She said: 'I didn’t need people to tell me I was big - I already knew, but my friends told me I had a pretty face so my weight didn’t matter.'

But Amy’s weight was having a huge impact on her health and doctors warned her to quit her junk food habit.

'Doctors diagnosed me with a hiatus hernia, where the stomach is pushed into the diaphragm, which was caused by my unhealthy diet,' she explains.

'I realised the damage my lifestyle had been doing to my body and now I’ll be forced to take medication for the rest of my life to prevent acid reflux from the hernia.'

By Amy’s 27th birthday, she’d reached 21 stone and was a dress size 24.

So she finally ditched the chocolate and began the Cambridge Weight Plan in a bid to get fit before she reached 30.

She said: 'It was hard to ditch my chocolate but I stayed strong.

Amy, pictured (left) aged 14 wearing a size 16 suit, and (right) at her school prom in 2001 in a size 16 dress

'It was such a boost when the weight began dropping off me and helped spur me on.'

Now having dropped an incredible seven dress sizes and weighing 10st 13lb, Amy is looking forward to treating her newly slimmed frame to a summer wardrobe.

'I’m saving up the money I would have spent on chocolate to see my dad in Florida later this year,' she said.

Last month, she also qualified as a Cambridge Weight Plan consultant in a bid to help others drop the pounds.

'I’m finally happy with myself and I’m so excited to help others lose weight,' Amy concludes.