Plus-sized pole dancer sheds nearly SIX STONE in two years with racy exercise regime - and hopes to win competitions with her new-found skills

  • Eda Marbury, 25, from Missouri, began pole-dancing two years ago 
  • She's seen her weight drop from 23.5st to just over 17st  
  • Plus-sized dancer saw a video of her performing go viral 
  • Husband Terrik has been hugely supportive of his wife's hobby

By Jo Tweedy For Mailonline

Published: 06:27 EST, 21 October 2015 | Updated: 08:39 EST, 21 October 2015

A plus-sized woman who was struggling to lose weight through more conventional forms of exercise has shed nearly six stone after taking pole dancing lessons.  

Eda Marbury, 25, from Missouri, USA, has stunned her friends and family with her flexibility and now hopes to enter competitions to showcase her skills. 

Eda, who battled anorexia throughout her teenage years, turned to the unusual sport after struggling to lose weight at the gym. 

Scroll down for video 

Eda Marbury, 25, from Missouri, began pole dancing two years ago after deciding the gym wasn't for her

Eda Marbury, 25, from Missouri, began pole dancing two years ago after deciding the gym wasn't for her

The accountant coordinator was nervous about dancing at first but after lesson three was hooked and her 23.5 stone frame began to shrink 

The accountant coordinator was nervous about dancing at first but after lesson three was hooked and her 23.5 stone frame began to shrink 

At her heaviest, she tipped the scales at 23.5stone and was beginning to despair as to how to shed the pounds. 

Now, she says she's lost nearly six stone in the two years that she's been dancing. 

Just joining the class was a big moment for Eda, as the full-length mirrors made her realise just how bad her weight problem had become.  

She explains: 'I was in denial about how much weight I had put on and how I looked.

'When I walked into the pole dancing studio for the first time I weighed 330lbs and the entire room was covered in mirrors. It was quite a shock.' 

Eda, who works as an accountant coordinator, says she battled with an eating disorder for eight years as a teenager and young adult. 

Her lowest weight was 9.5 stone and she would shun whole meals, instead just eating a few bites of food.

Feeling alone and depressed, it wasn't until she met her husband, Terrik, 26, that she overcame the disorder.

Weight-loss wonder, Eda pictured at her heaviest - 23.5 stone - was terrified at her first pole-dancing lesson 

Weight-loss wonder, Eda pictured at her heaviest - 23.5 stone - was terrified at her first pole-dancing lesson 

A video of Eda performing was posted on the internet and she quickly gathered lots of fans

A video of Eda performing was posted on the internet and she quickly gathered lots of fans

Many of those who watched the clip said that Eda had inspired them... although she did get her fair share of abuse but she hasn't let it stop her

Many of those who watched the clip said that Eda had inspired them... although she did get her fair share of abuse but she hasn't let it stop her

Flexible Eda is now hoping that she can enter competitions with her skills 

Flexible Eda is now hoping that she can enter competitions with her skills 

Look what I can do! The plucky pole dancer has spent two years perfecting her technique

Look what I can do! The plucky pole dancer has spent two years perfecting her technique

Husband Terrik is hugely supportive of his wife
...although he says he loved her when she was bigger

Husband Terrik is hugely supportive of his wife, although he says he loved her when she was bigger

However, instead of eating healthily, Eda instead binged on bad foods and her lack of exercise meant her weight began to balloon. After five years of consuming fizzy drinks and junk food, her weight reached in excess of 23 stones.

Despite her insecurities, Terrik told her continuously that he loved her and, two years ago, she felt brave enough to address her weight issues. 

Exercising at local gyms didn't appeal so Eda signed up at the all-women Pink Lemon Studio near St Louis and decided to try pole dancing instead.

Her first experience was nerve-wracking and Eda feared she'd walk out and never come back. However, by lesson three, she was hooked. 

She says: 'I was not good when I first started. I was afraid to take my feet off the ground.

'It took me a year and three months to climb the pole because I'm afraid of heights.'

Eda's old fear of mirrors disappeared and a pole was installed at home so she could practice her new-found hobby whenever the urge took her.

It wasn't long before the weight began to drop off and she's now six stone lighter.

She said: 'Eventually I'd like to be under 200lbs (14stone). I was never built to weigh as much as I do.'

While the pole dancer could see the physical changes her new hobby had given her, it was the internal changes that meant most.

She says: 'I felt more confident and I have friends. The way I dressed changed, I started to care a little bit more about what I was wearing and how I would do my hair.

Posing with friends and classmates, Eda says learning to pole-dance has changed her life

Posing with friends and classmates, Eda says learning to pole-dance has changed her life

Pole sisters: The girls in the class at the Pink Lemon Studio near Missouri 

Pole sisters: The girls in the class at the Pink Lemon Studio near Missouri 

She's even installed a pole at home so she can brush up on her pole dancing technique whenever she likes

She's even installed a pole at home so she can brush up on her pole dancing technique whenever she likes

'Before I started pole I wouldn't wear make-up, I didn't like to take the time to look after myself.

'It's nice to take the five or ten minutes to take time to make myself a special occasion.'

But one of Eda's biggest accomplishments was performing her routines at a showcase in front of 45 people, including her husband and parents-in-law.

Eda's greatest supporter has been Terrik, who has known Eda for seven years.

He said: 'Her pole dancing is sexy to me. I know a lot of people don't like it and a lot of people talk bad about it and frankly I don't care.

'It makes her feel sexy, it makes her feel happy and that's what I like about it.'

In August Eda posted a video to her Facebook page 'Eda's Climb To The Top' showing a three minute routine at her home.

Dressed in a skimpy yellow sports bra and pants, Eda threw herself around the pole, shimmied down to the floor and sexily shook her hips for the camera.

The video went viral, amassing a massive eight million views in just a few days.

Eda was stunned by the attention it received.

Nothing stopping her now! Eda pictured at one of her classes

Nothing stopping her now! Eda pictured at one of her classes

A young Eda: The accountant coordinator struggled with an eating disorder throughout her teens and only began eating regular meals when she met husband Terrik

A young Eda: The accountant coordinator struggled with an eating disorder throughout her teens and only began eating regular meals when she met husband Terrik

After the pair were wed, Eda's eating habits got worse and she binged on junk food and fizzy drinks, causing her to pile on the pounds

After the pair were wed, Eda's eating habits got worse and she binged on junk food and fizzy drinks, causing her to pile on the pounds

She said: 'I was really shocked. I was shocked when it had 50,000 views and now it has eight million views and I don't even know. It's mind blowing.'

But not everyone loved her video, and Eda was inundated with hateful comments.

Some called her 'disgusting', 'fat', and others even told her to kill herself.

Eda bravely took it on the chin and wrote in a public response: 'My whole message is to love what you are doing and yourself.

'I hope that someone any size or shape sees my videos and my page and it gives them hope that they aren't alone.'

Eda takes to heart the hundreds of people who have praised her.

Men and women of all sizes, shapes and abilities have personally written to say how Eda's video has inspired them to take up a hobby they had been too scared to try.

She said: 'Now I've got so many messages and I don't even know what to do with them.

'I think it's really neat that people that didn't have confidence in themselves have gone out and tried things because of the video.'

While she has helped others to achieve their goals, Eda has set her sights on achieving some big accomplishments of her own.

She wants to drop her weight to 200lbs (14stone) and compete in state pole dancing competitions.

She said: 'I've come so far in the past two years. I feel way more confident, way more sexy, way more beautiful.

'I feel like I'm worth it. I never thought I would be capable of the things I have achieved.' 

 

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