'I dropped from a size 30 to a size 10 with one key change'

A WOMAN has shared how she turned her life around after years of struggling with her weight - losing an astonishing 14 and a half stone and transforming her health, outlook and future.

- LOIS MCCARTHY

For Carys Teasdale, 38, life used to feel like a constant battle with food.

Born and bred in Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taf, she remembers feeling different from a young age. “Even as a child I was always bigger than other children in my class,” she recalled. “When there were school photos and that I’d always stick out like a sore thumb.”

As a little girl weekends spent with her beloved great-aunt, who “absolutely loved to spoil us”, left a lasting mark on her relationship with food.

“It came from a place of love but she almost became my feeder,” Carys said. “She used to buy me takeaways, pizzas, and tubs of ice cream - from that I built up quite an unhealthy relationship with food.”

As the years went on the teasing turned to bullying and food became her private comfort. “When I was in my teenage years I became a bit of a secret eater. Eating became my escape.

“My mother was always wary of my size so she always cooked healthy things for us but when I reached the age where I was getting pocket money I'd go out and buy chocolate and crisps. I'd end up eating them in my bedroom and hiding the wrappers - it was such a toxic relationship with food but it was also my source of comfort because I was dealing with the bullying, which had gotten to a physical level.”

In her later teens secret eating spiralled into binge-drinking and frequent takeaways. Working as a chef, and being constantly surrounded by food, made things worse. “Moving away from home at 18 escalated my eating even more because I was in charge of what I was eating. I was out of control,” she said candidly.

Carys became a self-confessed “yo-yo dieter”, trying the cabbage soup trend, keto and juice plus - anything to shift the weight. But nothing lasted. She added: “It was so hard, especially working in this industry, being in a kitchen, surrounded by food constantly, that temptation was always there.