25st Caerphilly mother loses 9st after fearing she wouldn’t see her children grow up

An overweight Caerphilly woman lost more than nine stone after embarking on a strict diet over fears she wouldn’t see her children grow up.

Dawn Price, 41, weighed in at 25st and was unable to do the simplest tasks on her own before she lost the weight.

She found she could no longer tie her own shoe laces, and had to rely on help from her daughter Jessica, now 19, and her twins Emily and Lloyd, now 14.

Humiliatingly, she couldn’t go to the toilet on her own as she was so large, she couldn’t reach round far enough to wipe her bottom.

Dawn said: “It was so degrading. Every time I needed to go to the loo, I’d have to call one of the kids. I hated it, but there was nothing I could do.”

She eventually hit rock bottom and realised something had to change. Three years ago in 2009, Dawn told Closer magazine, the realisation that she might not see her children grow up proved a turning point.

Dawn, who’s 5ft 5, started gaining weight aged five, when her parents split. She said: “I’d only see Dad at weekends and, to make up for it, he’d buy me chocolate. I began associating food with love and my comfort-eating spiralled.”

By the time Dawn was 13, she was 13st.

By the time she had her twins with long-term partner Darren in 1998, she’d gained another stone, then continued to gain weight over the next ten years.

Aged 39, Dawn split with Darren and her weight went up to over 25st.

After joining the slimming club, she lost 1st 2lbs in the first week and 4st in six months.

Dawn – who says she’s now a size 16 – has since lost an incredible 9st 3lbs and is 16st 6lbs, a lot of which is down to the loose skin she’s gained from dropping weight quickly at the start of her diet.

She said: “I suffer from asthma, but can look after myself now. I’m no longer a burden to my children. I’m lucky to have such amazing kids. We now spend time together properly and go to the cinema or shops.”