Hope Desroches has shed HALF her body weight - and now she's hoping to raise enough money to have her excess skin removed
At her heaviest, 36-year-old Hope weighed 23st. She was clasified as morbidly obese and, following years of bullying, suffered from depression.
Amazingly, Hope has now dropped down to just 12st, however, her weight loss battle is far from over, as the mum-of-two from California is now hoping to raise $100,000 for surgery to have her unsightly excess skin removed.
Hope's weight began to steadily creep up after the birth of her two children - daughter Regan, 11, and nine-year-old Malcolm.
She said: "I would eat whatever I could find. For breakfast, instead of eating a bowl of cereal I would have a big meal - maybe leftover pizza or something.
"I'd eat a family size lasagne for lunch and for dinner we would eat out a lot. I always had a desert as well-a pint of ice cream and a full box of cookies. I drank a lot of Sprite and Dr Pepper and I would never check out at the grocery store without grabbing a couple of chocolate bars."
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"At that point I was feeling depressed and had anxiety. I had no self-confidence. I didn't care about myself. It impacted my ability to do things with my daughter in a way. I just didn't have the energy to take them to the park and things like that.
"I would sit on the bench eating snacks. Then I would feel guilty about being so fat, and then I would binge. I hated my body. I would cover up with baggy tops and pants. I despised everything about myself."
This self-hate was only perpetuated by the vicious bullying that Hope was subject to at school.
She said: "I went to a private school and I was immediately rejected. It was the kind of place where everyone was a barbie and athletic and I weighed 250lbs (18st).
"The bullying was relentless. It was really really hard for me as a kid and it made me feel like less of a person. I didn't deserve it.
"The day I went to my first football game I was standing at the bottom of the seats and about 30 people started chanting 'fat cow' at me and throwing cans of drink and trash at me. It was a really terrible experience. Boca means 'cow' in Spanish every time I walked down the corridor that's what everybody called me. They screamed it at me.
"It made me really really depressed and I would cut myself. I felt like such a loner. I could never meet people so I started calling DJs on radio stations. I had this one I would talk to everyday. He felt like my only friend from the age of 12 years old."
But Hope has managed to work through her past with the help of therapy, and admits: "It took so long for me to get to this point, but I forgive them.
"I did this for myself and I couldn't care less about what they think of me now. I don't need their approval in any way. I'm so proud of how far I have come. I feel victorious."
Hope, who has been married to husband Johnny, 37, for 13 years, was able to overcome her demons after beginning to attend therapy in September 2015, which she said helped her to understand "the side of me that binged and didn't care".
After introducing small changes into her life like going for short walks and cutting down on her portion sizes, she was able to shed four stone in one year.
Hope, who is 5' 6", really stepped up her weight loss bid at the beginning of this year - limiting her calories to 1,700 a day and hiking a minimum of three miles a day - which then turned into six miles a day.
Incredibly, Hope has already lost seven stone this year alone, and has slimmed down from a UK size 28 to a UK size 14.
She said: "Before when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with how I looked.
"Now I feel a million times better and I'm more confident. I always wanted to be able to wear dresses and heels and look pretty - now I can.
"I'm so proud that I have come this far. When I'm hiking one of the things I love is that no one is around to watch me cry happy tears.
"There are so many times when I'll be pushing myself to do things I never thought I would be able to do before and I will cry because it feels so amazing."
You can follow Hope's journey on her Facebook page.
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