Obese mum who feared her kids would be bullied over her weight drops 9st – and now her family don’t recognise her in the pub
The mum cried when she saw how big she had got in photos
A MOTHER who feared her children would be bullied because of her weight has dropped nine stone.
Hannah Bavington, of Bedford, weighed 22st 7lb and would eat numerous packets of crisps a day and gorge on takeaways.
But as her children began to grow up, Hannah feared her weight could cause them to be bullied at school.
The 27-year-old said: "When I would take them to a soft play centre I didn't feel like I could join in or sit down anywhere for fear of breaking things.
"I didn't want to be an overweight mum and be a reason for them to possibly get bullied later in life.
"I didn't want them to pick up on my bad eating habits."
Her son and daughter are just 11 months apart, and when Hannah saw photographs from their christening she cried.
She added: "After I got the photos back from that day, I just sat and cried at the state of me.
"I didn't want any more memories ruined by my weight and how I looked.
"My house is covered in photos, but I stopped putting any up when I was at my biggest, and that was something I wanted to change."
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Hannah, who wore a size 28-30 in clothes, began to lose weight after she joined Slimming World in October 2015.
A year on she now weighs 13 stone and is in size 14 clothes.
She added: "I really miss a proper takeaway pizza but with Slimming World I've been able to make most of my favourite meals, including pizza.
"It's completely transformed my life.
"I'm now confident enough to take the children out to the park, or soft play centres and not feel like everyone is looking at me.
"We used to go maybe once a week to the park which is a five-minute walk from our house, but now we go every day."
Hannah has also been able to take part in Race for Life and a 10k charity walk.
She added: "I'm no longer lazy.
"I have so much more energy to run around after my one-year-old and two-year-old.
"I do a lot more for myself, rather than always asking my husband to do everything.
"The excuses have gone!
"I'm the real me again."
And Hannah said there are a number of things she can do now that she could not before.
She added: "I can go out and sit on a chair without worrying it will break, I can get in the shower cubicle and bend down to shave my legs rather than having to do them before getting in, I can park next to other cars instead of at the end of the car park as I don't have to worry about squeezing between cars.
"I can join in with the kids at the park and play on the swings with them.
"I can eat out in public without worrying people are looking and judging me, I can shop wherever I like and now I can go out with my head held high rather than head down hoping no one will see me."
The mum-of-two has also had an amazing reaction to her weight loss with many people not recognising her.
She said: "Friends, family and even complete strangers have been absolutely amazing in response to my weight loss.
"And when I was giving blood, the nurse asked my husband where I was, as we normally donate together, and I was laying on the bed next to him and she had just put the needle in my arm!
"Having seen her at every donation over the last four to five years, she just didn't recognise me at all.
"And when going to an event at our local pub in memory of a family member that had passed away, my husband's auntie asked him if I was at home with the kids - I was standing next to him!
"Definitely a smile-worthy moment and made me feel extremely proud of how far I've come."
The weight loss club has helped lots of mum's drop their extra weight, including Mandy Shipley who also lost a massive nine stone and is planning her best Christmas ever.