If the thought of joining the gym sends shivers down your spine, then take a leaf out of Kirste Crompton's book.
The mother-of-five transformed her body in the space of a year, simply by hitting a treadmill from the comfort of her own home.
The 42-year-old, who originally weighed 21 stone, has shed ten stone after running an outstanding 1,820 miles on her £65-per-month rented treadmill. That's the equivalent of running from Scotland to Italy.
Now, Crompton has dropped seven dress sizes and is a happier and healthier version of herself.
Kirste, who is 5'8", said that she was too "embarrassed" to work out in public, so she decided to rent a treadmill and use it at home.
She has also used her fitness goal as an opportunity to raise money for charity - and has raised over £600 pounds for The April Jones Trust after befriending April’s mother, Coral, on Facebook.
Crompton is now running up to 35 miles a week and hopes to compete in a triathlon.
“I can’t believe how far I’ve come," she told the Daily Mirror. “Less than a year ago I could barely walk, now I’m running marathons and am as fit as a fiddle.
“What’s more, I’m an active mum and can actually play with my kids and take them swimming without my huge tummy getting in the way. I’m a new person.”
SEE ALSO:
570-Pound Man Finishes 5K in 90 Minutes, Ends Up Inspiring Lots Of Others To Take Up Exercise
Matt Diaz Bravely Strips Off To Show Excess Skin After Weight Loss Of 270 Pounds
In April 2010, Crompton, then 38, was diagnosed with postnatal depression after giving birth to her youngest daughter, Honey, now four.
She recalls: “Up until then I’d been around 13 stone and a size 12 to 14. But following Honey’s birth I fell into deep depression and struggled to get out of bed in the morning.
“I turned to food for comfort and would lock myself in my room for hours eating.”
Fortunately, her devoted hubby, David Crompton, 36, a former soldier, cared for Honey and the other four children from a previous relationship - Stockard, 9, Pacey, 11, Hermione, 13, Darcy, 16.
At her lowest ebb, the mother-of-five was munching through family-sized bags of crisps, guzzling three bottles of white wine a week and eating whole saucepans full of pasta for dinner.
“Food was becoming an addiction,” she continues. “It was all I thought about.”
Within the space of four years, Crompton had gone from a size 12 to a 24 and weighed 21 stone.
“I was morbidly obese and was so ashamed of my wide girth I couldn’t face looking in the mirror or getting dressed in the mornings," she said.
“More importantly, it was preventing me from being a good mother. I was so overweight I couldn’t pick Honey up or play with my kids because my gigantic tummy was in the way.”
For Crompton, it was a vicious circle – she felt guilty about her size which made her feel depressed.
Turning to comfort food to make herself feel better.
Story continues below...
Weight Loss Success Stories
“I hated dropping the kids off at school because the other parents would stare at me and exchange looks," she revealed. “I was obese and it was an embarrassment for my kids.”
Crompton's wake-up call came in February 2014, nearly four years after giving birth.
She says: “I was at home preparing dinner when another parent knocked on my front door.
“There had been an altercation between our kids and we were trying to resolve it. But during her rant she called me a ‘fat cow’.
“I went bright red and felt like I was going to burst into tears, it was horrible.”
In that moment, the mum-of-four realised it was time to ditch the greasy snacks and calorie-filled alcohol.
Too embarrassed to be seen outside or exercise in a gym, she rented a treadmill and turned her dining room into a home-gym.
“It suited me perfectly because no one could watch me working out," she said. “I downloaded a running training pack from online and started to do interval training. Walking for five mins and then running for two. But it was very hard as I was so unfit.
“I tried to use it whenever I could, and when my fitness improved I started running for half an hour a day – covering 5km each time.”
On top of her new exercise regime, Crompton gave her diet a strict overhaul by trading the family-sized portions of spaghetti bolognese, cheese on toast, crisps and bars of chocolate for fruit, yoghurt and low-calorie meals.
She drank water and fresh juice and ditched white wine altogether.
“The exercise lifted my mood and I felt like a new person," she said. "I was no longer suffering from sugar crashes and eating wholesome food evened out my moods and helped with my depression.”
In just five months she shed four stone and dropped from a size 22 to a size 16. What’s more, she developed a new hobby in the process.
“I loved running,” she revealed. “I’d developed a hobby and was becoming a good runner.”
In July 2014, weighing 17 stone, Crompton ran her first 10km race for Bupa in 85 minutes. “It was a really hot day but I felt incredible afterwards," she said.
In the space of one year, she ran 1820 miles - the equivalent of the distance from Scotland to Rome.
She said: “It’s incredible when I look at it like that. This weekend I ran the Wrexham marathon in six hours and 15 minutes.
“Before I would only run in the privacy of my home but now I run outside and feel great.
“People barely recognise me, I’ve changed beyond belief. And more importantly, I’m healthy, happy and an active mum to my kids.”