'Mortified' mum who was too big to fit in airplane seatbelt loses 8st

Treacy Corbett, aged 57, was shocked to find she couldn't do up her seatbelt on a trip to Spain in 2019 and vowed to lose the weight.

The Ipswich mum, who is a volunteer for The Phoneix Project in Ipswich, said her size had yo-yoed throughout her life as she used food as a comfort.

She suffers from bipolar disorder and anxiety, so has turned to food through what she described as a "turbulent life".

When she joined Slimming World in January last year, Ms Corbett was determined to make a change, weighing more than 20st at the time.

Treacy says she now feels much more confident and is back wearing jeans after more than two decades. (Image: Treacy Corbett)

"I snacked all the time and I was very lazy," she said.

"I wouldn't look in the mirror and I hated going clothes shopping, only wearing leggings and baggy clothes. I'm now wearing jeans again for the first time in over 20 years."

Ms Corbett used to get out of breath easily and said she worried about the impact of her weight during Covid, as those who are obese are at a higher risk of having complications.

She joined Michelle Hood's Ipswich class and has managed to lose more than 8st through the Slimming World plan, dropping to a size 16 and weighing just over 12st.

Her BMI has gone from 43.2 to 26.3 and she has lost a total of 41.5 inches off her bust, waist and hips.

She said her confidence has grown and now she isn't bothered about eating slabs of cake or chocolate.

Treacy weighed more than 20st before she joined Slimming World. (Image: Treacy Corbett)

She said: "I eat lots of fruit and vegetables now, but nothing is banned. I can still have chocolate and takeaways as long as factor them into my sins."

The only exercise she does is regular 15-minute walks, which can be done in the garden or round the house.