WHAT a difference a year makes! At the beginning of 2008 Claire and Barry Bark weighed in at more than 30 stone between them.

WHAT a difference a year makes!

At the beginning of 2008 Claire and Barry Bark weighed in at more than 30 stone between them.

One year on the pair have shed an incredible ten stone and are loving their new, healthier lives.

By sticking to the Slimming World plan Mrs Bark, 34, went from 14 stone 5 pounds to 10 stone 8 pounds.

While Mr Bark, 36, went from 16 stone 12 pounds to just under 11 stone.

The remarkable achievement means the couple, who have been married for three years, are now able to get more active with their two sons, Alex, three, and Josh, 20 months.

Mrs Bark, of Selkirk Road, Ipswich, said: “I was very depressed when trying to buy clothes - nothing would fit and I was still in maternity clothes for months after giving birth.

“This did nothing for my self-esteem and the final straw was seeing a DVD of me on holiday - I was waddling!

“It wasn't easy doing it but my husband did it with me and lost six stone alongside me. It's been good to have each other.

“He's a self confessed beer monster and pizza lover so I was impressed with him and what he managed.

“It is great for the kids because they have got parents now who can do things with them. They eat the same things as us so they benefit too.”

While shedding the extra weight Mrs Bark, a full time mum, was also gaining some much wanted pounds by raising nearly �500 for the Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Foundation.

The money for the charity, which supports sufferers with chronic liver disease, was collected thanks to a sponsored slim which gave her an added incentive to stick to the healthy regime.

She added: “I feel fabulous! Really happy with my size and I now have no problem finding clothes that fit. Now I can climb the stairs without passing out at the top!”

Now Mrs Bark plans to train as a consultant for Slimming World to help other people lose weight.

Have you lost lots of weight? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.