Woman’s dramatic transformation after losing 39kg

It took an embarrassing social occasion for her to realise she had to change.

Hannah Guthrie had been looking forward to the bachelorette party for more than one reason. The bride-to-be was her boyfriend’s sister and it would only be their second time meeting. It was the perfect opportunity for Hannah to bond with her future sister-in-law.

But as the group readied themselves for the first activity of the day – riding on Segway scooters – Hannah was quickly despatched to the sidelines and made designated photographer. At 127kg she was too heavy to fit on a Segway.

“I was really excited at first,” Hannah, from Cheshire in the UK, says.

“I’d never tried a Segway before. It didn’t even occur to me that my size might be an issue!”

While the group moseyed around on the two-wheeled scooters, Hannah watched on in shame and envy. The experience left her so “embarrassed and ashamed” that she knew something had to change.

“I sat on a picnic bench, after having to explain to the group why I couldn’t join in, trying so hard to hold back the tears,” Hannah recalls, adding the Segway had a weight limit of 114kg. “I watched everyone else enjoying themselves, taking on the role of photographer instead.”

Weeks later she attended another wedding with her boyfriend, Tom Jackson, and was mortified by the pictures she saw of herself.

The unflattering photos and her experience at the hen do prompted Hannah to do something about her weight: “After that I decided that I knew something had to change.”

That was three years ago. Today, Hannah (30) is half the woman she used to be after transforming her diet and lifestyle, Metro.co.uk writes.

Hannah, who works as an activity coordinator, now weighs 88kg after losing 39kg.

She started attending Slimming World meetings, a UK-based weight-loss programme, going to the gym and running and she joined dance classes, Liverpool Echo writes.

Hannah was totally committed to her new healthier lifestyle.

''I really stuck to my healthy eating,” she says. “I knew I couldn't carry on as I was. I had been bingeing most nights on sweets and chocolate.”

Over the past three years she has dropped from a dress size 22 to 14. Not only has Hannah shed the weight, she’s bid farewell to her bad habit of secret eating too.

As a teenager Hannah would secretly guzzle sweets and chocolates and her unhealthy relationship with food continued into her twenties. It also didn’t help that she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal condition that can lead to weight gain.

“I was ashamed of my size and that made me feel so low. My moods were really bad,” she says.

Hannah documents her weight-loss journey on her Instagram page, @hannahguthrie_getfit.

“I find it motivates me and keeps me accountable,” she says.

She uses the platform as a diary to share honest accounts of her struggles and achievements along the way.

“A lot of women message me asking for help or find a feeling of comfort in someone in the same position as them,” she says.

It’s been a slow process getting to where she is now, but Hannah’s journey is far from over.

“I know I’ve done well but it’s a lot to get used to,” she says of her dramatic transformation.

“I see myself every day, so I don’t realise how much of a big change it is until I see old pictures of me.”

SOURCES: METRO.CO.UK, THESUN.CO.UK, LIVERPOOLECHO.CO.UK