ROSYTH woman Donna Melville was left struggling to walk after comfort-eating caused her to gain weight rapidly.

When she lost her mum to pancreatic cancer, Donna fell into bad eating habits which saw her shoot up to 17 stone.

She knew then that enough was enough and joined Slimming World to try to get things under control.

She said: "I was in shock that I let things get that bad.

"I was always an active person and I was now struggling to walk and breathe and was diagnosed with asthma.

"I went along to my first class at Touch, which was a terrifying experience, but my consultant, Claire, made me feel at ease.

"I learned so much about myself, my trigger foods and about how my emotions were driving my meal and snack choices."

By March 2020, Donna had lost three stone and was looking forward to showing off her progress on holiday.

However, this was all taken away when the pandemic struck.

"Lockdown completely threw me off my stride," Donna said. "I was working from home, our holiday to Florida had been cancelled and my motivation drained away.

"I went back to comfort-eating, the weight started to creep back on, and I soon regained two stone I’d worked so hard to lose.

"I was increasingly unhappy and disappointed in myself."

Almost a year later, after a pair of shorts bought for her holiday would not pull past her thighs, Donna turned her attention back to weight loss.

Donna's group leader suggested she increase her activity levels to bring her weight back down.

Initially, she signed up for Jog28, which had her running a mile a day for the duration of February.

After that, she took on even more challenges, including the Scottish 10K and Women's 10K.

By doing this, she not only improved her own health, but raised money in memory of her mum.

"As well as running three times a week, I am also a member of Fife Kickboxing & Self Defence Academy (FKSDA) and attend kickboxing classes where I am training for my purple belt," she revealed.

"If someone had told me what I was able to accomplish in 2021 I would not have believed them.

"I have now lost four stone which has made me feel anything is possible and ran over 400 miles.

"I am full of life."