A Renton mum has been crowned a slimming group's "Miss Slinky" after a year-long battle of the bulge.

New-look Ailsah McArthur is ready for the Christmas party season after losing 2st 9lb and dropping three dress sizes.

Ailsah, 22, who attends Christine Warren’s Slimming World group at St Martin’s Church Hall, was miserable and depressed last Christmas when she realised she had piled on the pounds.

She told the Reporter: " I hated looking at myself in the mirror. I felt embarrassed that I had let myself become this heavy.

"I have a two-year little boy, Lucas, and it was getting more difficult to run around after him.

"I also have a health condition. It's a neurological condition that can make me paralysed. My family had to care for and look after me and it didn’t help that I was overweight.”

However, Ailsah took the first steps to turning her life around in April when she and her mum Kirsteen decided to join the Slimming World group.

She said: "What a great group. Christine made us feel so comfortable and told me that she would be there every step of my weight loss journey and she stuck to her word.

"With her cheery attitude and love of what she does , she has helped me a lot. The best part of the Slimming World eating plan is how much food you can eat without weighing or measuring.

"I was never hungry. I love cooking now and my favourite meal is burgers, my son’s favourite too!"

Ailsah said she had lost 2st 9lb in 30 weeks and mum Kirsteen had also lost 2 ½ stones.

"I have got rid of all my big, baggy clothes and have swapped them for my slinky size 10 dresses. Now when I look in the mirror I like what I see - what a difference a year makes."

Christine, her consultant, added: “Ailsah has blossomed into a confident, beautiful young woman. This Christmas she will be dancing with her friends showing of her slinky figure. I’m so proud of her – she's my Christmas Star!

Christine’s groups are held at St Martin’s Church Hall, Renton, every Tuesday (10am, 5pm and 7pm) and on Wednesday (10am and noon).

More details are available on 07873392559.