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'I used to be so fat that I couldn't put my shoes on': Woman who once tipped scales at 24 stone shamed into shedding 112 lbs after son was bullied over her weight

Published: 05:54 EST, 28 August 2014 | Updated: 05:54 EST, 28 August 2014

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A mother-of-three who was once so fat that she struggled to put on her shoes and socks, lost more than eight stone in weight after her son's three-year-old friend called her fat.

Lynsey Langdon, 38, gave up sweets and kebabs after her son Jack was teased at school on account of her weight.

At her heaviest Lynsey weighed 24 stone and wore size 32 clothing, but after exercising more and overhauling her diet, she now weighs 15st 12lb and can fit into size 16 dresses.

Lynsey Langdon, pictured here in 2010, was once so fat that she struggled to put on her shoes and socks

The hairdresser from Royston in Cambridgeshire, said: 'Having a child say I was fat so bluntly made me realise how much I needed to lose weight.

'Now I can play with my kids and run around in the garden - we all have a much better quality of life. I once got a buzz from eating sweets, now I get it from spending time with my kids.'

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Lynsey was overweight as a child but her weight began to pile on significantly after she started working in a hair salon.

She said: 'I have always liked my food, but I've never had an 'off' button - I never stopped eating after I was full.

'Growing up, I didn't know what was healthy, so as I got older I just kept getting bigger.

'I then discovered fast food and alcohol, which made things worse.'

After Lynsey's son Jack was taunted at school over her weight, she went on a diet and went from a size 34 to a size 16

By the time she was 26, she weighed exactly 24 stone.

She said: 'Embarrassingly I had trouble putting my shoes and socks on and I had a hard time standing up when I had been sitting down.

'It was horrible - I felt really bad and it was really hard to move around. I couldn't breathe when I was putting my clothes on.

'Today my son is six-and-a-half stone and I can't lift him as he is so heavy, so I have no idea how I used to walk around with that hanging off me.'

Lynsey has three children with husband Greig, 40 - their sons Jack, 11 and Harry, seven, and daughter Asla, four.

When Jack was three years old he came home from school with a story that a classmate had been teasing him because she was overweight.

Lynsey struggled for years with her weight and claims the problems became even worse when she discovered alcohol. Here she is at a party in 2005

She said: 'He said that a boy had said 'your mum's fat'. It didn't phase Jack, but it was quite upsetting for me.'

The incident was enough to persuade Mrs Langdon, who had tried and failed numerous diets, to join Slimming World.

The weight soon began to fall away.

She said: 'I couldn't face being the fat mum at the school gates, I know how cruel kids can be.

'I was picked on when I was younger because I'm quite short - I'm only five foot one. I was always bullied and it was terrible.'

After managing to lose more than eight stone by attending Slimming World, Lynsey has now become a consultant for the company. Here she is with fellow Slimming World member Karen Eveleigh

'I knew Jack's classmate was just a child and he wouldn't know how hurtful his comment was but I was absolutely devastated.

'I stood by the back door and cried my eyes out. It really reinforced the fact that I wanted to lose weight for Jack and for myself.'

She decided to take up walking for exercise and completely changed her diet.

Before beginning her weight loss, she typically missed breakfast but ate crisps and chocolate through the morning, followed by a cheese and ham sandwich for lunch.

For dinner she would often get a large kebab with chips and would snack on salt and vinegar crisps throughout the day.

Lynsey Langdon with her husband Greig and son Jack while she was still overweight

Today, she typically eats a fat-free yoghurt for her breakfast, for lunch she will have couscous with ham and salad and for dinner she now makes a healthy stir fry.

If she wants a snack she will have a yoghurt.

Mrs Langdon continued to lose weight during the pregnancies of her other children and now weighs 15st 12 lbs, dropping from a size 32 dress to a size 16.

She said: 'It's so much better now - my knees no longer hurt when I'm walking and when I want to cuddle up on the sofa with the kids, they can actually fit on there with me.'

Mrs Langdon now works part-time as a Slimming World consultant.

She said: 'Now I help other people lose weight and I hope I'm an inspiration to them, so they know what they can lose weight like I did, if they work at it.'