Size 28 junk food addict shamed into losing TEN STONE by humiliating swimsuit photo that made her look like a ‘beached whale’ 

• Caroline Kupfers, 33, from Scunthorpe, tipped the scales at 19st 13lb
• Humiliated by a bikini photo on holiday, she was desperate to lose weight
• Joined LighterLife and changed her diet, losing half her body weight

By Michelle Rawlins For Mailonline

Published: 09:04 EST, 14 July 2015 | Updated: 18:57 EST, 14 July 2015

A former chocolate addict celebrated her incredible ten stone weight loss by recreating the very bikini photo that shamed her into slimming  - exactly a year after it was taken.

Caroline Kupfers, 33, from Scunthorpe, used to tip the scales at 20 stone and could only just fit into size 28 clothes due to a life-long 'addiction' to food.

After seeing the 'disgusting' image of herself jumping into a pool on holiday, she went on to shed half her body weight and proudly re-enacted the pose showing off her new body for the camera.

Caroline Kupfers, 33, from Scunthorpe, celebrated her ten-stone weight loss (right) by re-enacting the humiliating image (left) that had caused her to lose to weight in the first place

Mother-of-one Caroline had been left humiliated when she jumped into a hotel pool and caused a large wave of water to spurt out.

She said: 'I was mortified and completely humiliated. I looked and felt like a beached whale.

'As I jumped in the pool, most of it came out. Of course I put on a brave face and laughed, but inside I was so churned up and upset.' 

But exactly a year after that photo was taken, instead of being embarrassed and ashamed, she jumped into the pool in August last year proud of her new slimline sexy figure.

Caroline, a secretary, said: 'Instead of dreading being seen in my huge swimming costume, I walked out to the pool, delighted with how I looked.' 

Prior to her body overhaul, the mother-of-one thought nothing of devouring large bags of crisps, stodgy sandwiches, followed by giant cream cakes.

Mother-of-one Caroline used to tip the scales at 19st 13lb, attributing her weight to a lifelong addiction to food

'I was a complete food addict with no control at all,' she said. 'And most of the time I just accepted that's who I was.

'But holidays were awful. Not only would I dread getting into a swimming costume, I had to wedge myself into a seat in the plane and always had to ask for a seat belt extender. 

'I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me up I was that upset. But as soon as I got home I would return to my old ways of eating all the wrong foods.' 

She added: 'I would literally eat anything that I could lay my hands on. I always wanted stodge, pastry and chocolates and had absolutely no cut off point.'   

Brought up on a diet of heavily butter-laden meals, Caroline, recalls how her mum loved baking and home cooking. 

She said: 'The kitchen was always full of calorific cakes, quiches and pies. By the time I started senior school, the other kids had nicknamed me thunder thighs. It left me shy and introvert.  

Caroline pictured with her daughter Nikita at the worst of her weight problems

By the time, Caroline, who is 4ft 11in, left school at 16, she was a size 16. 

She said: 'I never weighed myself but struggled to find any flattering clothes. I was limited to elasticated waists and baggy tops that I loathed.' 

Not long after, Caroline met her husband, Simon. He also had a huge appetite but had a very physical job so never gained weight. 

Caroline recalls: 'We got into a habit of eating whatever we wanted.

'I never exercised so the weight just piled on. By the time I got married when I was 20, I was size 18-20 and looked like a barrel. 

'But I was so happy, I didn't let my size bother me. Within a couple of years I'd crept up to a size 24, and was struggling to get pregnant. It was only then I decided to try and first shed the pounds.' 

It was then Caroline started the LighterLife program for the first time, and in six months lost an impressive six stone and was fitting into a size 14. 

The diet worked, and no sooner had Caroline slimmed down, she fell pregnant. But it also became her downfall. 

Using the excuse that she was eating for two, she fell back into her old ways. By the time her daughter, Nikita, was born, she had ballooned back up to a size 18. 

She says: 'I resembled the side of a house but I was so taken up with being a Mum, I lost all my motivation to lose weight and became addicted to convenience food again.' 

Caroline was unhappy with her weight and found herself suffering from chest pains and shortness of breath (pictured with her husband Simon, left, and daughter Nikita, middle)

But Caroline hated herself. As Nikita started toddling around she could barely keep up with her before panting for breath. 

'And when we went on holiday, I felt like a beached whale as I pulled on my ginormous swimming costume and jumped in the pool,' says Caroline.  

Only in August 2013, while Caroline was on holiday in Turkey with her family and friends, that image was permanently captured in a photo. 

She recalls: 'I was appalled when I saw it. I absolutely hated myself and how big I looked. I was utterly disgusted. 

'And asking for a seat belt extender was painfully humiliating.' 

Then one night just after that holiday, Caroline had just got into bed, when she started having palpitations.' 

She recalls: 'I struggled to catch my breath and had horribly tight chest pains. 

'That and the awful photo was the warning sign I needed. It made me realise if I didn't do anything about my weight, I could end up suffering a heart attack. 

'My little girl was only eight years old - far too young to lose her mum.' 

By then Caroline had shot up to 19 stone, 13lb and only just fitting into a size 28. 

New diet app helps you lose weight and consult nutritionists

After joining LighterLife, Caroline went on to lose ten stone and go from a size 28 to a size 10

Caroline is now much healthier and happier and has more energy on a day-to-day basis

Desperate to change her ways she went back to LighterLife for the second time. 

Substituting meals for shakes, soups and cereal bars, Caroline lost 4lb in the first week, and the week after, another five. 

Caroline said: 'Immediately, I started to feel much better. I had more energy and wasn't getting as out of breath. 

'I kept a regular check on my weight and month on month I was losing a stone. 

'I started dancing again like I'd done as a teenager, and as I swept across the hall, confidence soared through me. I could do moves that would have felt impossible before I started dieting.' 

In the ten months after Caroline began LighterLife she'd lost an astronomical ten stone, and was down to nine stone 13 pounds and fitting into a size 10 to 12.

She recalls: 'My husband was amazed and thrilled by my transformation and friends I hadn't seen for a while had to do a double take when they saw me. 

But the real prize came for Caroline when she flew to Turkey on holiday last August, a year after the first shot was taken that left her humiliated. 

She recalls: 'We had gone away with a similar group of friends. Only this time I wasn't embarrassed about getting into my swim costume. 

'Instead a few days after we arrived I walked to the pool with pride deliberately recreated the pose. 'I felt sexy and glamorous. I jumped into pool and felt so proud of how I looked.  

'I can now keep up with Nikita (right), dance five times a week and go to high impact aerobic classes: Caroline, pictured here on holiday, has now transformed her life

'I now look at that photo and smile as opposed to the first one that makes me want to burst into tears. It is a real reminder of how far I have come and that I never want to end up huge again.'

Caroline gradually swapped the LighterLife meals for good healthy food and says she now 'hovers around ten and a half stone'.

She says: 'I can now keep up with Nikita, dance five times a week and go to high impact aerobic classes. I love the new me.

'Instead of hiding behind baggy tops, I now proudly show off my new slimline figure in fitted tops and tailored trousers. 

'And whenever I'm tempted to binge on a super size bag of chocolate eclairs, I remember the awful humiliation of emptying half a pool of water having to ask and it's enough to kerb my pang for something fatty.'  

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