The holiday snaps that changed our lives! Dreading those summer bikini shots? Then these women will inspire you...

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Never going back: Anna has worked hard to drop from 17 to 10st, left, and doesn't want to be overweight again

There's nothing more depressing than flicking through your holiday photos, only to find your happy memories marred by how overweight you look in them. Here, three women inspired to shape up after seeing themselves in their holiday snaps share their stories...

Anna Shephard, 29, is a primary school teacher from Dulwich, South London. She is married to Junior, 28, a mature student. Previously a size 22, now a size 8-10, she says:

As a child, I was big. I ate a lot, and my bad eating habits continued into adulthood. Typically, I’d have two burger and fries meals from Burger King for lunch — and maybe a family-sized bag of Maltesers after dinner.


Ashamed of her size: Sonia was 15st, right, but is much happier now she's 11st and can fit into dress size 12


Sonia Coles, 41, is a teaching assistant from Banbury, Oxfordshire. She is married to Stephen, 50, a caretaker, with two children, Louis, 16, and Samuel, 12. Previously a size 20, now a size 12, she says:

Before I went on holiday to Spain in 2008, I was so ashamed of my size that I didn’t even try on my new one-piece swimsuit. I was a size 18 and couldn’t bear to look in the mirror; I didn’t want to confront the reality of how I looked. We had booked into a lovely apartment complex in Salou, which was full of lots of other British families. By the pool, I was so conscious of my wobbly flesh that I hid inside a towel. Most of the women were slim — and their gorgeous figures were a painful symbol of what I could never be.


Wake-up call: Angela, now 9st, left, knew she had to rid herself of the belly she had had since her youth, when she was 12st


Angela Sweeter, 60, is a hairdresser from Bracknell, Berkshire. She is separated and has two grown-up sons, aged 23 and 21. Previously a size 14-16, now a size 10, she says:

Last year I was going through some old photos when I found one of myself taken in Monte Carlo in 2003. The photo shows me standing on the balcony of my hotel, with my tummy so swollen, I looked pregnant. There’s no smile on my face, no sense I was enjoying myself. What struck me was that nothing about my appearance had changed in the seven years since that photo had been taken. I was still the same size — 12st and a size 14-16.


source: dailymail