Laura Finlow, a resilient mother-of-five from Milton Keynes, has shed an incredible eight stone despite facing a series of harrowing ordeals.

Back in 2013, Laura suffered a devastating loss as her mother, Janice, succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 57. In a cruel twist of fate, that very week, Laura's husband, James, was diagnosed with leukaemia.

"It was really, really hard," Laura confessed. At the time of grieving, Laura had to return to work and put on a brave face in front of customers. "I lost my best friend," she said. "You just want to sort of shut yourself off to the world and cry."

Weighing 15 stone at the time, and standing at just 5ft 3in, the mum found solace in food for years, which saw her peak at a weight of 19st and 5lb (123kg) by 2017.

"I thought I looked horrendous," Laura confided. "I couldn't believe how big I was... the size of a house."

Then, one evening, Laura reflected: "I thought, 'What am I doing? What if something happens to me? I can't leave my kids behind. I need to sort myself out'."

Determined to make a change, Laura embarked on the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, which involves eating a calorie-restricted diet, and resulted in her slimming down to a svelte 10st 7lb (67kg) in eight months.

For lunch, Laura would find herself frequenting cafes, unaware of the high-calorie content in the sandwiches and cakes she ate, but the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan offered her pre-prepared meals and meal replacement snacks.

With delight, she recounted: "I had to keep buying smaller clothes; I could hardly keep up with it. When I saw the numbers on the scale go down, I had to check that it was right."

Laura now weighs in at 10st 7lb with a 31.5in waist. "I need to keep the weight off as I've got five kids and a grandchild," said Laura. "And I need to be there for them. I don't want to go back to the person I was – it was no life."

"I put a pair of jeans on for the first time in years and a size 14 was too big; I haven't even worn jeans in years and now I feel more confident," she shared.

Laura is currently in the maintenance stage of her diet and is confident she won't revert to her previous habits.

"You never realise how big you are until you lose the weight and I'm so glad I have I can run around with the kids now, it's amazing," Laura expressed.

The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan is a calorie-controlled programme that promotes eating packaged meals and replacement snacks.