3:30pm Wednesday 25th April 2012
By Alan Woods
A MOTHER from Bexleyheath says her life “has really begun” after losing six stone and halving her dress size.
In 2009, Lara Holden, of Ashbourne Avenue, weighed 16 stone seven pounds and shopped for size 24 clothes.
It was the sudden death of two family members that finally inspired her to trim her waistline following years of failed diets.
The 34-year-old said: “When I was 14 I was size 14 but all the other girls were nearer size 8.
“They went to Miss Selfridge but I couldn’t get the same fashionable clothes in my size.”
In 2002, Lara married husband Danny wearing a size 20 wedding dress and following the birth of her two sons, she never gave a thought about her diet.
She said: “I hardly ate fruit or vegetables, preferring convenience food such as pies, pizza or chips.
“I could eat a whole packet of biscuits with a cup of tea and my chocolate bars kept getting bigger until I was having a family-sized bar to myself.”
When her 52-year-old Uncle died weeks after being diagnosed with kidney cancer and her mother’s partner died in his sleep aged 54, Lara was determined to improve her health.
She said: “I realised life is short and I desperately wanted to make more of it.
“I couldn’t run around with the boys because I got breathless.
“I couldn’t join in when they went on rides on adventure playgrounds because I was scared I’d be told I was too big to get on one.”
Lara joined a Rosemary Conley fitness club in Bexleyheath, run by Christine Squire, in January 2010 and lost two stone in her first year.
Sticking closely to her diet and exercising was Lara’s key to success during 2011 and by June, she weighed an incredible 10 stone 3 pounds and had dropped to a size 12.
Lara said: “Other people’s reactions made me feel proud of myself.
“Now I feel my life has really begun.”
Breakfast: Nothing
Mid-morning: Tea with biscuits (sometimes the whole packet)
Lunch: Large baguette with bacon, avocado and mayo
Snacks: Biscuits, flapjacks
Dinner: Lasagne and chips, sausages with mash, Chinese takeaway
Breakfast: Alpen Lite cereal bar, two pieces of fruit
Mid-morning: Fruit or yogurt
Lunch: Wrap filled with ham or chicken with salad, or home-made soup
Snack: Low-fat yogurt
Dinner: Chicken or grilled fish with lots of vegetables
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