'I was finally the confident woman I'd wanted to be'

After a work medical revealed Lizz Pleace, 31, from Maidenhead, Berks, was at risk of heart problems, she knew she had to make big changes to her diet and lifestyle without delay...

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Lizz Pleace says her life hit rock bottom after a standard work medical at her IT company in 2023.

"At 29, I was more than 19st, had joint pain, inflammation and asthma, and was at the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes," she says.

"On top of that, I'd learnt because of my weight and family history, I was also at acute risk of developing heart problems in the future.

"Up until that moment, I'd only ever thought about my weight in terms of how bad it made me feel emotionally. Now, I had to face up to the fact I was dangerously damaging my physical health, and I was hit by a wave of anxiety and shame.

"It had given me the shock of my life. I knew I was overweight but to see the reality written down in black and white was terrifying."

Lizz was also battling low self-worth, a legacy of being "marked out as different" since the age of six. She recalls: "In one primary school play I was cast as 'the big boutique seller'.

"Later, at university, one of the other students christened me 'Big Lizz', and I found myself scanning every room I went into, asking myself: Am I the biggest person here?

"My self-esteem crashed, my confidence was nonexistent and I became my own harshest critic. The sorts of things I said about myself, both in my head and out loud, were so negative I'd never have dreamt of saying them to anyone else."

However, Lizz managed to achieve more than she ever imagined - not only did she rebuild her self-worth, she found a supportive community, transformed her diet, learned to love food and lost 9st 4.5lb in the process. Here's how: