A Brighton woman has told how a photo shamed her into losing four-and-a-half stone – and changed her life.

Nicola Weaver, 34, was a size 18 when she attended her sister’s wedding and was so horrified by an unflattering photo of herself she immediately embarked on a weight loss programme.

Before, she had struggled to find fashionable clothes to fit her and shied away from socialising. But as the weight dropped off her, she began to go out more - and the following Christmas met her husband-to-be at a work party.

“Having my family is the result of losing weight,” said Nicola. “I wouldn't have had the confidence to attend the works do if I hadn’t lost the weight and I wouldn’t have met my husband and had my children.”

Nicola, who is on maternity leave from her job as a personnel manager for Waitrose in Worthing, weighed 14-and-a-half stone when she struggled to find an outfit for her sister’s wedding. “It was such a headache - it took me weeks to find something I felt comfortable in,” she said. “Then, when I saw that photograph, I hardly recognised myself. I looked huge and much older than my years. I knew I had to lose weight to regain myself.”

She joined a Slimming World group and as she began to lose more than four stone, her confidence grew, and on her own wedding day less than a year later had shrunk to 10 stone and a size 12. “I loved having my photos taken on my wedding day,” said Nicola. “Since then, I’ve had my two children, I’m now 11 stone and in the process of getting back down to 10 stone.”

Nicola is also re-launching a Slimming World group on Tuesday November 4. It meets at Moulsecoomb Hall in Moulsecoomb Place, next to the library in The Highway, off Lewes Road, at 5.15pm and 7.15pm.

Samantha Scrivens dropped six dress sizes in 12 months after her weight made her depressed and housebound. The 39-year-old mother-of-three, who is married, lost the weight at the Brighton Slimming World group. At her heaviest she weighted 17 stone, but last October she suffered a pain in her chest and she realised her health was at risk.

Samantha has now lost more than five stone and has gone from a dress size 22 to a 10.

“I’m so glad I have found the new me,” she said.