An overweight bride-to-be has dropped a staggering 10 stone in a bid to fit into her dream wedding dress.
Claire Davies, 33, from Aberystwyth, Wales, ballooned to 22 stone but has managed to shed almost half her body weight after she struggled to squeeze into a size 28 wedding gown.
Now, the assistant shop manager weighs a healthy 11 stone 8 lbs and is a slim size 8 after dropping eight dress sizes in just 12 months.
And following her incredible transformation, in March this year, Claire walked down the aisle in her dream size 12 wedding gown.
Claire, who has since been referred for surgery for the loose skin on her stomach, said: ‘I felt like a princess on my wedding day. It was the best day of my life.’
Claire Davies, 33, of Aberystwyth, pictured in January 2016 at a size 28 (left), and trying on her dream wedding dress (right) when she weighed 14 stone and was a size 14
As a child, Claire had always struggled with her weight and endured cruel taunts from classroom bullies about her size.
She recalled: ‘My classmates were mean and called me “fatty”. I was really shy and I turned to food for comfort. I loved junk food so it was no surprise that my weight suffered.
‘Aged 17, I weighed 16 stone. Every day, I ate a family bar of chocolate followed three bags of crisps. I also loved fizzy drinks and glugged three cans of full-fat [Coca Cola] each day.’
But, aged 21, Claire’s confidence took a nosedive after her then-boyfriend at Aberystwyth University dumped her for another girl.
Claire, who works at Pets at Home, said: ‘I began suffering with depression and hated my body.
Claire pictured in January 2016 while trying on wedding dresses. The first size 28 gown she tried on didn’t do up at the back with Claire revealing: ‘It was disheartening but it was enough to spur me on to seriously start losing weight’
Progress: Claire pictured in July 2016 showing the loose skin she has left on her stomach, when she was 16 stone and halfway through her weight loss journey
Side effects: Claire in March 2017 showing the loose skin she has left on her stomach when weighed 12 stone and was a size 12 (left), and a month later in April 2017 (right). She has recently been referred for surgery to remove the excess skin
‘I lived off salt-laden ready meals like Fray Bentos pies or I’d order a large pizza with chips and chicken wings.’
By the time Claire met her husband Craig, 28, a sales assistant, six years later in 2011, she weighed 18st and was a size 22.
Claire revealed: ‘Craig made me feel special and he never minded my weight.But I continued to balloon. I never exercised, and fruit and vegetables were never on the menu.’
By September 2015, Claire weighed 22 stone and was a size 28. She recalled: ‘I struggled to walk without losing my breath.
‘That month, Craig proposed while we were on holiday in Greece. I was so shocked but couldn’t wait to marry the man of my dreams.’
The way she was: Claire (right) with sister Anne-Marie, aged 26, in 2012. Claire weighed 19 stone at the time and was a size 24. She said of her former diet: ‘I lived off salt-laden ready meals like Fray Bentos pies or I’d order a large pizza with chips and chicken wings’
Claire Davies in 2009 when she weighed 18 stone and was a size 24 (left); and in 2013 after putting on an extra stone
Claire with now-husband Craig on her 30th birthday in September 2014. She weighed 20 stone at the time and was a size 24 – but she would gain an extra two dress sizes
Sweet treats: The shop worker pictured in Greece in September 2015, when she got engaged to now-husband Craig, 28. She said: ‘I was so shocked but couldn’t wait to marry the man of my dreams’
But when the happy couple shared their news, one relative had a stark warning for Claire.
‘Craig’s nan, Rose, 71, told me my ring was too dainty for me and that I needed to lose weight before the wedding,’ she said.
‘It hurt at the time but it was the honesty I needed to jolt me into action. My engagement ring was a whopping size U.’
In January 2016, Claire joined Slimming World – and was mortified to discover she weighed 22 stone.
She admitted: ‘At 5ft 4in, I was morbidly obese. I refused to be a fat bride.’
Three weeks later, Claire tried on her first wedding dress.
Happy couple: Claire with now-husband Craig, in 2014. At the time she weighed 19 stone and wore a size 24, recalling: ‘Craig made me feel special and he never minded my weight’
Claire pictured at her graduation ball, aged 21. She weighed 20 stone at the time but would continue to put on weight throughout her twenties
Claire pictured in March 2014 when she weighed 19 stone and was a size 24. She recalled: ‘I continued to balloon. I never exercised, and fruit and vegetables were never on the menu’
Family time: Claire with her dad Alan, now 59, on Christmas day 2015. Claire weighed 21 stone at the time and was a size 26
‘It was a size 28 and I couldn’t fasten it up at the back,’ she said. ‘It was disheartening but it was enough to spur me on to seriously start losing weight.
‘And I found my perfect wedding dress, a strapless gown with an embroidered waist and a large skirt. It was gorgeous but was tiny at a size 12.’
So Claire swapped calorific sandwiches slathered with butter for leafy salads.
She said: ‘Every time, I craved a packet of crisps, I pictured my dream wedding dress. This kept me motivated to lose weight.
‘I joined my local gym and, twice a week, I exercised for an hour and half.’
Second time lucky: Claire in her dream wedding dress in July 2016 after she had lost 6 stone. She weighed 16 stone and was a size 18 but would continue to shed weight ahead of her big day
Claire pictured on her wedding day on 25th March 2017. Claire weighed 12 stone and was a size 12 after dropping an incredible 10 stone for her nuptials
‘I sobbed with happiness’: Claire was overjoyed to learn she could fit in to her dream wedding dress (pictured here on her big day with husband Craig in March)
Claire said of her wedding day: ‘It was the best day of my life – not only did I marry my best friend but I got to show off my incredible weight loss’
By July 2016, Claire had lost an astonishing 6 stone.
‘I tried on more dresses and fell in love with a mermaid-style dress which I put a deposit down on,’ she said.
‘However, two months later in September 2016, I’d lost a further 2 stone and the dress hung off me.
‘Then I tried on my original dress that I had fallen in love with, it fit perfectly. I couldn’t believe it was a size 14 and I felt amazing. I sobbed with happiness.’
By January 2017, Claire had lost another 5in off her waist and a further 2 stone.
Celebration: Claire pictured in January 2017 after dropping an incredible 10 stone. She said of her remarkable transformation: ‘I’m just glad I got to be a stunning bride on my wedding day’
Svelte: Claire shows off her new slim frame in April 2017 (left, at home and right, at work). She now says she’s glad her husband’s grandma made the comment about her weight
Newly-slim Claire says of her transformation: ‘I’ve still got a stone of loose skin on my belly which I’m self-conscious about and has affected my intimacy with Craig, but I’ve been referred for surgery’
Two months later in March 2017, she walked down the aisle in her size 12 wedding gown.
Claire says: ‘It was the best day of my life – not only did I marry my best friend but I got to show off my incredible weight loss.
‘And if it wasn’t for Rose’s honesty that day, I wouldn’t have looked so spectacular on my wedding day. Now I’ve lost 10 stone 6lbs in total and I feel great.
‘I’ve still got a stone of loose skin on my belly which I’m self-conscious about and has affected my intimacy with Craig, but I’ve been referred for surgery.
‘I’m just glad I got to be a stunning bride on my wedding day.’