A Brighouse woman says her own dad didn’t recognise her after she nearly halved her body weight.
Super slimmer Claire Shawe, a mum-of-two, dropped from 20st to 12st in just 17 months.
She decided to join her local Slimming World after her brother Daniel and his wife Christie had. Together, the three lost a total of 16st.
The 43-year-old had always struggled with her weight, while her younger brother had piled on the pounds when he reached adulthood.
When the siblings’ dad John, who lives abroad, returned home to England for their grandad’s funeral last year, he didn’t realise his own daughter had greeted him!
Claire recalled: “I said hello and gave my dad a cuddle before nipping to the bathroom.
“When I was gone, he said to my brother, ‘Who was that?’ My brother had to tell him it was me!
“My dad couldn’t believe how much I’d lost and he’s been inspired by us to lose 4st himself.”
Daniel, 37, has lost more than 4st and Christie, 35, lost 3st 5lb.
The couple, who have two children together, started attending Slimming World Rastrick, which is led by May Wiseman, in September 2015.
Claire had previously tried various diets and even went to a weight loss clinic where she was prescribed amphetamines.
But after over a year of weekly meetings at Slimming World and half an hour of daily exercise, she finally dropped her dress size from 26 to 12.
And her weight isn’t the only thing that improved. She says it gave her the confidence to find love again after years of being single.
She was married in her early 20s before being in a long-term relationship with her children’s dad.
Claire, who works as an account secretary at Spire Elland Hospital, began online dating and within six months she was engaged to a new partner, Stuart Rowell.
She said: “I pretended being single was about making my kids happy, but it wasn’t. I didn’t like me and I didn’t think anyone else would either.
“It’s so hard to get out of the mentality of a fat person. You regularly think things like, ‘Can I fit in this chair?’ Even after you lose weight, you keep wearing baggy clothes because you’re used to hiding your body.”
Claire, Daniel and Christie still attend weekly meetings to be social, despite having already met their target weights.
