A mother-of-two said life is worth living again after shedding nearly seven stone.

Hayley Riglin, 24, joined Slimming World last year after she had complications with the births of both her young sons and decided she needed to change.

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Before the weightloss

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Hayley said she felt lost and had no confidence

The former Cheam High School pupil, attended classes at St Albans Church Hall, in Gander Green Lane, and dropped from 16st 10.5lb to 9s t 12lb in a year and eight months.

Mrs Riglin, a customer services assistant, said: "When I was around 18 I got pregnant and I was already overweight - about 13 stone.

"I had my baby at 19 - he was born premature at 29 weeks because of an infection. They thought he might not survive.

"It made me feel worse because I felt and hopeless. I got really really depressed - I blamed myself. His father left me when my son was three months.

"In 2011 I had another baby when I was about 22 years old. I had pregnancy diabetes and had to take blood sugar.

"I just carried on eating - I wasn’t listening. Then the hospital said they were going to induce me a week early for the safety of my baby.

"I had to have an emergency cesarean. After that I was about 16 stone. I stayed that weight for a year."

Mrs Riglin, who converted to Islam in 2007, had to pray on a chair because of the difficulty her weight posed.

She experienced embarrassing moments including when she went to buy a wedding dress in Cheam in 2010 and was told by a member of staff they only sold dresses up to a size 16.

She added: "In February 2012 I called my mother and was so upset I wanted to lose weight and I to find help.

"I looked online and was amazed how much food I could eat and lose weight. In the first week I lost two-and-a-half pounds.

“Life is worth living now. Before, when I was overweight, I felt so lost and I had no confidence to do anything. I had depression and didn’t want to leave my home - I just wanted to hide away and I would feel hopeless."

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'Life is worth living now'

Mrs Riglin was awarded greatest loser and woman of the year in her Slimming World group this year.

She moved from Sutton to Essex with her family earlier this year and is now looking forward to the district Slimming World finals.


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