A lardy mum who ballooned to 22 stone after gorging on fast food and takeaways has slimmed down to become a curvy catwalk MODEL.
Shirin Arabpour, 29, was so fat she could barely squeeze into a size 24 dress after years of piling on the pounds.
At her heaviest she tipped the scales at a whopping 22st (139.7kg) and was left with severe health issues as a result of her unhealthy diet.
But in January 2012 the mum-of-one decided to lose weight in a bid to make her dream of becoming a fashion model a reality.
Shirin ditched her diet of pizzas and fatty foods and began cooking herself healthier meals packed with fruit and vegetables.
She also began working out to fitness DVDs, going the gym three times a week and to a special exercise classes for mothers, called Well Fit Mums.
Over the next three years Shirin shed an impressive eight stone (50.8kg) and is now a healthier 14 stone (88.9kg).
She is now vying to become a full-time model after reaching the finals of a prestigious modelling competition for plus-sized women.
Shirin, from Moseley, Birmingham, an assistant manager at a watch shop, said: “I feel so much more confident in myself now.
“I just wanted to lose weight to get healthy initially after my doctor told me I was going to get gallstones. But I have always thought I would love to do modelling and saw that as an extra incentive. I could finally realise that dream.”
“If I win this competition it would open so many doors for me, particularly for modelling opportunities.
“The last two winners of this competition have gone onto do modelling and I know that they are still working in that industry.
“I really hope this could be my big opportunity now. I knew I was too big to model before but now I’ve been given this chance, I want to grasp it with both hands.”
Shirin even dumped her unsupportive boyfriend of seven years who didn’t believe she could make it as a model.
She managed to maintain her impressive weight loss regime while she was pregnant with son Michgrey, now seven-months-old
She added: “I had never been to the gym before I started my weight loss. I actually broke up with my ex because he wasn’t supportive and didn’t believe I could do it.
“He used to bring me home cake and chocolate and I just always wanted to lose weight, I think he thought I might run off with someone if I got thinner.
“It was always his attitude but it just got progressively worse and worse.
“We had been together for seven years but I ended it in early 2012 when I started to tackle my weight.
“When I was at my biggest, my diet was awful.
“I ate too much of everything but particularly fried, fatty and oily foods. I had a lot of takeaways as well. I just ate too much.
“My new partner is great. I have been with him since November 2012 and he is very active and sporty.
“He used to be a semi-professional footballer and he goes to the gym a lot. He encourages me and motivates me to lose weight and eat sensibly.
“It is great support to get where I want to be.
“I think there is a lot of negativity in the press at the moment, especially after Jamelia’s comments on Loose Women about plus-sizes.
“When you are that size, you are ashamed of your size. The last thing you want is this negativity about it.
“It should be yourself to decide to lose weight, for the benefit of your health or lifestyle.”
Shirin is representing the West Midlands in Miss British Beauty Curve, a modelling competition for plus-size women.
It will take place on August 8 at Epsom Hall, in Epsom, Surrey.
