Zelda Haxby loses 20 stones over five years

Zelda Haxby, 47, has won Slimming World’s Greatest Loser 2011 title, having over five years, dropped from 35st 7lbs to 15st 7lbs and from a dress size 36 to a 14 to 16.

The York mum, whose two sons both have a heart defect, said that before losing the weight she was not living life, but merely existing. Her main motivation was her boys Liam, 19, and James, 15.

James was born with half a heart and has already had three major open heart operations. Zelda said: “I realised that if I didn’t lose some weight, I might leave them without their mother forever.

“At my biggest, I struggled to walk or stand for long, and I was hugely embarrassed about my weight so I didn’t leave the house unless I absolutely had to. When I did, people would laugh and shout things at me – you take a lot of stick when you’re that big.”

Zelda, of Huntington, said she had always struggled with her weight. By the time she had her first son Liam, now 19, she was 19st and her weight continued to rise after having James, now 15.

Crisps were her weakness, and she ate as many as 15 packets a day, even in the middle of the night when she could not sleep. Zelda said: “I never really realised how much weight I was putting on, but before I knew it I was a size 36 and couldn’t find anything to wear.”

She decided to take action in April 2006 when a friend left a copy of Slimming World magazine at her house. Her friend was getting married and Zelda knew if she failed to lose weight she wouldn’t go.

With the help of Slimming World, she transformed her family’s eating habits. Out went the takeaways and endless bags of crisps and in came lots of healthy, home-cooked meals. She said: “If someone had told me it would take five years to lose weight, it would have seemed too difficult and I’d never have believed I could do it. But it’s just a matter of taking every day at a time.”