DIETER SNAPS INTO SHAPE

LAUREN Cottam looks picture perfect after snapping her way to a six-stone weight loss.

She took a year’s worth of photos to record her efforts.

Lauren was a size 20 when her best friend asked her to be her bridesmaid.

But the thought of standing with her thinner friends left 16st 3lb Lauren feeling queasy.

So she set about ditching the weight before the wedding in Cyprus. And to keep track, she modelled her gown in photos in the year before the big day.

When her friend Chloe finally tied the knot, Lauren was 10st 11lb and a size 10.

Lauren said:

“We were out celebrating my birthday when my best mate Chloe asked me to a bridesmaid. Obviously I was totally thrilled – but then a couple of weeks later she told me she had bought the dress.

“‘What size do I have to be?’ I asked her and she said: ‘It’s a size 16, it’s the biggest size they did.’ “I just remember feeling sick at the thought of it. “The other bridesmaids were tiny, the pictures would be forever and she was getting married in Cyprus, so I’d have to wear less clothes in front of lots of people.

“I knew what I had to do and I had just over a year to do it.” Lauren had long struggled with her size. Her doctor even prescribed weight-loss pills but she couldn’t cope with the side effects.

Lauren, who makes technical drawings, said: “After Chloe’s bombshell I tried the dress on and realised it was a small 16 and I couldn’t even do it up.

“I asked Chloe to take a photo of me. I felt horrible in it, but I wanted the picture to remind me of how bad I looked to keep me motivated.”

Lauren, from Heysham, Lancs, joined Slimming World in April 2018, refusing to look at the scales.

A week later, she was told she had lost 4.5lb. She had more snaps taken and each shot showed her slimming down.

On June 21, just two days before the wedding, Lauren reached her goal weight of 10st 11lb.

Lauren said: “I was so happy I cried. It had been so tough but taking those photos in the dress kept me going.”

You can follow Lauren’s efforts on her Instagram page – @lcslimmingworldjourney.