Ashleigh Warren before and after losing more than half her body weight

Ashleigh Warren, 23, has lost more than 10st in less than 10 months after deciding to change her lifestyle when she realised her size was holding her back.

Her weight ballooned so much she feared she would not fit in a plane seat when going on holiday with her partner last year and refused to go on any rides at a theme park as she was too scared she would be told to get off.

But after joining Slimming World, her weight has dropped from 20st to less than 10 since last October.

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Ashleigh Warren after losing more than half her body weight

Ashleigh, who is from Hindley but now lives near Liverpool, began piling on the pounds after leaving home and going to university, but making a few simple changes has transformed her life.

She said: “I had tried everything going but then we went on holiday and I thought I wasn’t going to fit in the seats. I did but just the thought that I wouldn’t was enough. We went to a theme park and I refused to go on any rides for fear that they wouldn’t let me on.

“It was that shame and my health wasn’t the best. I was suffering from migraines and I couldn’t go up and down stairs without getting out of breath. I didn’t want to blame it on my weight but I know it was.”

Ashleigh has swapped nights on the sofa watching Netflix for going to the gym five times a week which has had a huge impact on her health and energy levels.

Ashleigh Warren after losing more than half her body weight

“I thought I would do it for about a week and then give up but it lasted,” she said. “At first I didn’t really exercise, I would do 10 minutes of walking but now I go to the gym five times a week. I have completely changed the way I live.

“I have changed the way I eat as well but I can still have burgers and chips but I just make them myself and I can still have pizza but in the right way. I even still have takeaways but once a month now instead of four times a week. I eat breakfast now as well which I never used to.

“I have so much more energy now. I feel like I have got my life back. My sister and my mum are slim so we are not a big family but when I went to uni and left home I started putting weight on. In two or three years I went from a size 10 or 12 up to 22.”

Ashleigh has so far this year completed a Pretty Muddy event and is taking part in another fun run in October.