Obese Starbucks fan who slurped FOUR 400-calorie mochas a day slims down to a size 2 after failing to fit into size XL leggings

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A Starbucks fan who drank four massive mochas a day has lost 126lbs (nine stone) after being horrified to find she was large for leggings.

Teresa Perrego, 50, from Denver in Colorado, was horrified when she couldn't squeeze herself into her XL leggings – the biggest size her store had.

Her weight slowly piled on after having children, where she focused on feeding them with healthy meals but not taking as much care for her own diet.

Teresa Perrego, 50, from Colorado lost a whopping 126lbs after being shocked that she could no longer fit into size XL leggings

The 50-year-old mum now looks ten years younger at a very trim UK size 6

At her heaviest when she weighed 252lbs (18 stone), she was slurping four large mochas from Starbucks a day, each drink totalling more than 400 calories.

After her clothes became too tight and she realised she was too large for leggings, she switched her calorific coffees and carbs for organic, whole foods and a daily 40-minute workout.

To hold herself to account she used online site, DietBet, where players place money into a weight loss betting pool, to win the money back she had to continue to lose weight every month.

Now, the mother weighs just over 129lbs (nine stone) and is delighted that she can slip her svelte self into size 2 (US 6) clothing.

Teresa, who runs beauty salons, said: 'I was one of those people who didn't eat, but I'd always have the large 400-calorie Starbucks and I'd drink up to four of them a day.

'I'd always go for the large chocolate mocha with whipped cream, you don't realise it at the time but they're so high in calories.

Before her enormous weight loss, Teresa would drink up to four full-fat chocolate mochas a day

She is now super slim and fit after giving up the sweet treats in favour of a healthier regime

'You think you're just drinking something so it can't be too unhealthy, but then when you realise the calorie and sugar content and find out just how bad they are for you.

'I'd go from not eating all day long, having high calorie coffee drinks, then after finishing late at work would have one massive meal filled with carbs.

'I'd fill up with pizza, Italian food or go to a restaurant, it was always a large late night meal so I had no time to work it off.

'It got to the point where I looked in the mirror one day and didn't know the person looking back at me, I was horrified.

She began to exercise up to 40 minutes a day and the weight began to fall off

'One day my XL leggings didn't fit, despite being stretchy pants I couldn't even squeeze into them anymore.

'Then when there were no larger sizes in the store I went to it was the final straw.

'All of my clothing was getting too tight and too small, I knew I would either have to buy bigger clothes or make time for myself to start losing weight.

'I started eating organic and wholefoods as well as exercising up to 40minutes a day – and the weight started to fall off.

'I took a long time in the supermarket, acclimatising myself with different vegetables and finding where the healthy foods were.

Teresa used website DietBet as an incentive to keep shedding the pounds

'Then I started on DietBet, which motivated me, when you're putting money into a pot it keeps you accountable as you don't want to lose your money.

'Every month I'd set a new goal, first of all it started as a set amount of weight, then to fit into an outfit for a specific event.

'I'm not an in your face competitive person, but because I was battling myself I was determined to win, plus I'd put some 'skin' in the game so I wanted to win even more.

'Now after two years I've lost over 120lbs and feel incredible, I had to buy a whole new wardrobe as nothing fitted me anymore but this time because all my clothes were too big.

'When trying on clothes I was shocked when a size 8 was huge on me, I went down a size but still it was too large, then I went down to a two, just to try it, and it looked perfect.

Teresa pictured before her weightloss at her son Zach's graduation

'There was a point in my life where I thought I'd never see a size 2 clothing again, I just to accept that it would never be me, but now I can fit into them.

'Being healthier means I have so much more energy too, rather than being the mum who'd stand on the side-lines feeling unhappy, I'm a lot more fun and happy.'

Teresa was encouraged to start lose weight after going on a trip to Disney World, where she was embarrassed that she was struggling to keep up with her energetic daughter.

When she was approaching her target weight, they revisited the park and both of them raced around the park and went on all the rides.

Teresa said: 'Before when we went I had to let her run around on her own because I was too out of breath and so unhealthy, we had a picture with Cinderella and I was shocked how big I was.

'I was so frustrated and angry with myself, when I couldn't walk across the park and keep up with her, I knew my weight was really holding me back.

'To celebrate being 20lbs away from my target weight, we went back and were both running through the park, I could finally keep up with her.

'We went looking for a Cinderella to try to recreate our old photo, but couldn't find her, so settled for Mary Poppins, in that picture I looked great.'

Teresa used DietBet - an online site where players place money into a betting pool where they have to lose a set amount of weight to win money over four weeks.

The mother lost up to 10lbs each month and credits the DietBet community with her success

The site claims users can typically win up to two times their money back and lose 9lbs.

Teresa lost up to 10lbs a month and believes the community online was the reason she succeeded, due to them all encouraging one another and going through the same thing.

Jamie Rosen, CEO of DietBet, said: 'Most people don't claim to have fun while losing weight, our players do - we also offer financial incentives which have been proven to hold people more accountable.

'We are so proud to have played a role is Teresa's weight loss, she is a great example of why our community is so special.

'The fact that she refers to the players she met through DietBet as 'family' is particularly meaningful to us, as we strive to create environments where people make real connections over the real struggles and triumphs of weight loss.

'We hope that Teresa will be able to turn to DietBet and her DietBet family at any point in her journey when she needs extra support to live the healthy life she worked so hard to attain.'