HANNAH Beech wanted to lose weight on her own terms after being bullied at school for her size.

The 24-year-old community nurse has now lost more than four stone in less than a year.

As a result of the weight loss, she now enjoys clothes shopping and will soon begin searching for a bridal gown in time for her wedding in May.

Hannah, who lives on Pirehill Lane, Stone, started attending her local Slimming World group in October to support her mum, Mandy Beech, and ended up losing four stone in the first five months.

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She said: “I went to support my mum and not because I wanted to lose weight, but that first night when we weighed in I realised I was a lot heavier than I thought I was.

“When I discovered how friendly and supportive everyone was I decided I wanted to go for me and within the first week I lost five-and-a-half pounds.

“At the sessions there’s no judgement, which is what I have always had against losing weight.

“I’ve always been big and I was bullied from the age of 12. Because they bullied me I didn’t want to lose weight for someone else, I wanted to be in control.

“So I waited until a time when I was happy and thought ‘now I’m doing it for me’.”

Hannah, who loves cooking and follows the Extra Easy plan, feels that she has had to make very few changes to her diet to see results.

She said: “I can eat all the same foods, just cooked in a different way.

“For example, instead of using oil, I use Frylight, and instead of shop bought sauces, that can amount to 28 sins, I make my own from scratch.

“I don’t think I ever ate badly, I just ate out at restaurants quite often and snacked a bit more.

“Now I track how many sins I eat each day, and because I am eating healthier meals, I can treat myself to chocolate or to my weakness, crisps.”

Nowadays Hannah feels a lot more confident and energetic since slimming down.

She said: “I felt a lot better. It’s only really in the last four months that I have looked different, but straight away I felt different.

“I felt better after the first half stone, and now I have so much more energy.”

Hannah who plans to buy her wedding dress in September, said that she won’t be focusing on hitting a specific target weight, but just getting to a size that feels right and comfortable for her.

She said: “I have got the ultimate goal of wanting to look good in a wedding dress which will help me to stay on target, but I will never be stick thin so I once I feel happy with how I look I will just maintain it.”

Hannah’s proud mother Mandy, who lives in Stone, said: “She’s inspirational. We went to support one another and to feel better about ourselves.

“Hannah has really taken to the Extra Easy plan and even takes Slimming World books on holiday with her.

“She’s very dedicated, just like she is with everything she does.

“Now she’s more confident. The change in her is subtle, but I can tell that she’s so much happier.”

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