Mum sees 7st weight loss after being too embarrassed to be photographed with her daughter

Watch: UK mum embarrassed to take photos with daughter sheds 7st in incredible transformation

A mum has showed off her incredible weight loss transformation after dropping 7st (44kg) because she was embarrassed to be seen in pictures with her daughter.

At her heaviest, last year, Lara McReynolds, 32, from West Dunbartonshire weighed 18.6st (117kg), which left her struggling to play with her daughter Halle, seven.

She hated how she looked in photos and would hide her body, ensuring she only ever had pictures of her face.

Determined to make a change the GP receptionist set about overhauling her lifestyle and signed up to the 1:1 diet, which includes a range of low calorie meal replacement products such as soups, shakes and bars.

The move saw her slim to 11.6st (73kg) and drop 10 dress sizes, going from a 22 to a 12. Her waist size went from 47 to 31 inches.

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“It hit me one day that I couldn't just keep getting bigger and bigger and miss out on doing activities with my daughter," she explains.

“I needed to make sure I was healthy so I can live a long life and be there for her."

McReynolds says she has hardly any pictures of her and her daughter before she lost weight as she felt "embarrassed" about her size.

She believes being a busy single mum partially contributed to her weight gain, turning to takeaways up to four times a week after finding it hard to get motivated to cook after putting her daughter to bed.

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“I was eating constantly," she explains. “I ate a lot of junk food and comfort eat by rewarding myself with takeaways on good days or bad.

“I was having three or four a week, it was just quick and easy.

“I would make dinner for my daughter about 5pm, then do the bedtime routine, so by the time I sat down it was 7pm and I didn’t want to start cooking a big meal.

“I also have a sweet tooth so I was bad about eating sweeties and cakes.”

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Having joined her local 1:1 group, McReynolds now eats around 1,500 calories a day.

“I had done the diet in the past and never kept it up, but this time I was determined to do it and lose the weight," she explains.

“It’s crazy the difference I have seen in my measurements."

As well as now being happy to pose for pictures with her daughter, McReynolds weight loss has impacted other areas of her life.

“I am more active and able to do stuff with Halle, we go out and about much more," she explains.

“We play together and I can chase her around which I would never have been able to do before."

“Halle thinks it is fantastic."

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Lara is now a consultant with 1:1 and can be found at - https://www.facebook.com/121Lara

Diet before:

Breakfast: McDonald’s coffee and McMuffin

Lunch: Sandwich with juice, crisps and chocolate

Dinner: Takeaway, Chinese, pizza, kebab

Diet after:

Breakfast: Coffee and 1:1 diet readymade shake

Lunch: Chicken salad

Dinner: Omelette with veg

Additional reporting SWNS.