Claire Crowthers, 31, set about a complete lifestyle change after ballooning to 14 stone by gorging on junk food
A 14-stone midwife who refused to get married as a 'fat bride' shed six stone and has finally taken her vows.
Claire Crowthers is unrecognisable after her dramatic weight loss, triggered when a stranger commented about her obese weight.
The student midwife ballooned to 14 stone by comfort eating junk food in between her busy shifts.
But now the 31-year-old mother-of-one is a shadow of her former self after she slimmed down to a size 6.
Claire admits her weight was "out of control" and she was "bursting out of her midwife uniform when her weight problems began at university.
She said: "I was a comfort eater and stress meant that I reached for the ice cream and pizza all too often.
"At 5ft 3, I tipped the scales at nearly 14 stone and I couldn't bear to look at myself in the mirror.
"My long term health was in jeopardy, I was classed as morbidly obese and I was a bad role model for my daughter Molly."
Claire's weight gain even began to affect her relationship with her boyfriend Stephen and she refused to marry him because of her size.
"I couldn't stand the person looking back at me in the mirror, every photo of me was so bad that I deleted them off the camera to avoid having to look at myself," she said.
She finally decided to take positive steps when after a patient's husband commented on her weight.
She said: "I was mortified and although I knew he was right, the fact that a total stranger had passed a comment left me feeling upset, but also determined to change myself."
After signing up to a local slimming club with her portly partner Stephen, 30, she lost an incredible four stone in just ten months.
She said: "I felt great and my eating habits had been completely overhauled, but I was still unfit and found that my weight loss had slowed down."
Claire's new-found love of fitness led her to join the DW Fitness Club in Wrexham.
She said: "I was terrified the first time I walked on to the gym floor, I had no clue what to do or where to start, but my sister was a member and she introduced me to group exercise.
"Being the kid that always had a sick note for PE and having spent my entire adult life loving life sitting on the sofa, I had always hated the idea of jumping around getting sweaty, but I knew I had to do something."
Claire puts her dramatic weight loss down to her dedication to classes like Spin, Bodycombat, Bodyattack and Bodypump.
"I loved the buzz that I got from completing a workout and soon made new friends," she said.
"Not only was the gym a place to get fit and help me reach my goals but it also became a social outlet and I found myself spending more and more time attending different classes."
By August 2012, she had dropped another two stone and was wearing size 6 dresses.
Her new confidence meant she only hadone answer when boyfriend Stephen popped the question.
"Stephen proposed and I said 'yes' knowing that I could finally go and buy a wedding dress with confidence knowing that I wouldn't look like a 'fat bride'," she said.
Now, fitness is an integral part of the couple's lives.
"I am now qualified as a midwife and work my sessions out around my work and my commitment to my daughter," she said.
"I got married in October 2014 and in the run up to the wedding I started to work with Genna Loskutnikov, a personal trainer at DW.
"He introduced me to resistance training and I started to see my body change in a way that I had not seen before."
Since the wedding, Claire and Stephen have taken on a new intensity intheir training sessions and followed a strict nutrition plan.
"The support of my husband was integral to the success of my weight loss and working to a goal together again felt great," she said.
"We are one week away from the end of the 17-week challenge and we cannot believe the change in our bodies.
"I have now transformed my body twice, firstly from obese to healthy and now from healthy to athletic."
Claire said she now has a 'lean and toned physique' that she is proud of.
"We can't believe that we both have ripped abs now when a few years ago we had rolls!" she said.
"I cannot imagine my life without training and when I reach my goals I set a new one.
"I never allow myself to get bored by doing this and I am always improving myself."
Claire said her daughter Molly is in 'awe' of her achievements and she is now a 'good role model' for her.
"I feel amazing, my health is improved and I no longer hate the person staring back at me in the mirror and I have the confidence to go out and live my life to the full," she said.