19st mum lost half body weight

But unlike many others, Mrs Beacham, 32, of Risca, stuck rigidly to her diet, shedding half her body weight in just one year - spurred on by a family tragedy.

The mother-of-three weighed 19 stone and three pounds when she joined weight watchers on January 4 last year.

Now she has turned her life around, weighing just nine stone, nine pounds.

Mrs Beacham decided to join Weight Watchers after her brother, Robert Wassall, died of a heart attack two years ago.

She said: "My brother never got to see his son being born. It just made me think that if I could become healthier I might gain more time with my children.

"I wanted to be fitter and healthier for my children.

"I'm a more outgoing mother nowadays and I do more with them now than ever before."

Mrs Beacham says her strict diet is to thank for losing the weight.

She said: "I stuck to the healthy eating plan completely and I didn't cheat on it at all.

"After a few weeks I didn't really crave fatty foods anymore, I couldn't even stand the smell of walking into a chip shop."

Mrs Beacham says she used to eat too many fatty foods and not enough fruit and vegetables. She laughed: "If I had an apple a week that would be a shock."

But now Mrs Beacham says she eats four to five small meals a day with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Mrs Beacham added: "I used to find it really embarrassing when I'd go shopping and couldn't fit into things.

"But now I can swap pyjamas with my 11 year old daughter!

"I've had people blank me because they just don't recognise me," she says.

"The responses I've had from people have been really positive and that's kept me going."