The mother-of-two, from Georgia in the US, said she was depressed before losing nearly nine stone, and said the key was being unafraid to experiment
Krystal Wall, 33, had struggled with her weight from a young age and had to battle years of verbal abuse – including taunts suggesting she would never find a man while that size.
But after the weight loss, she says her friend cruelly told her she had only been pals with her because she was “another fat girl.”
The stay-at-home mum, who married her husband Grant when she was 19, revealed how on her honeymoon she was so embarrassed by her size that she pretended to be scared of horses in order to avoid revealing she was over the weight limit to ride.
Krystal was eating between 3,000 and 5,000 calories each day, which would typically include two bowls of cereal, big plates of pasta and cheese, cheeseburgers, fries and chocolate brownies.
“I was 23st 11lb at my heaviest and I was miserable, depressed and really hated the way I looked,” she said.
“I was constantly preoccupied about the way other people must have thought about me.
“This was one of the hardest things. I’d sit in a room and look at everyone and wonder if I was the biggest one there.
“I was constantly trying to sit, walk or stand in a way that made me look as small as possible and this was a huge hindrance on just being able to enjoy life.”
In 2016 Krystal, who lives in Georgia in the US, was advised by her doctor to go for bariatric surgery – but she opted to shed the weight on her own.
Krystal’s average calorie intake has plummeted to 1,400 per day, and she now fasts for breakfast, has salad with chicken, tuna or beef for lunch, with meat and vegetables in the evenings.
She also goes to the gym at 5am each morning and does over an hour’s cardio, as well as sometimes hiking, cycling or swimming.
The American, who now weighs just 14st 12lbs and is a size 12, said: “The weight loss has changed my life and even enhanced all the things that were already good about living.
“I have so much energy now for my children and I’m enthusiastic about being active. I’m far more productive.
“I’m comfortable in my own skin which is something I’ve never experienced before. I now love to go on adventures, meet new people and take on new physical challenges.”
The mother-of-two, who has been married for 13 years, said that she now feels like she can “trust herself”, as she finally fulfilled her promise to herself that she would lose enough weight to feel healthy.
“Now I finish what I say I will, and I go to bed each night feeling proud and thankful,” she added.
“You are capable of so much more than you know, and you will never know what you can do until you give yourself space to do it,” she said.
Krystal has set up a weight-loss Instagram account for like-minded people to support and encourage each other.
