A pop singer was so disgusted at a picture of herself on stage she shed eight stone – and then landed a RECORDING contract.
Talented Kelly Peffers, 28, lost nearly half her body weight after being horrified by the chubby photo taken during an audition.
Shocked after realising she had ballooned to 18 stone, Kelly began her weight-loss journey and is now nearing her target weight.
Currently weighing in below 10st, the mother-of-three was rewarded for her determination with a record contract with label Downtown Artists and has just released her first single.
Kelly, who began making music when she was 15 and over the years has played alongside acts such as Muse and Basement Jaxx, is also being lined up to appear on BBC show The Voice.
But it has been a long road to re-build the confidence she shattered after seeing the photo of herself on stage during an audition for the services version of X factor, called the RAF Factor.
Recalling the life-changing moment, she said: “After having my second child, I started pushing myself to get back on stage, because I didn’t think I could inspire my children to be what they wanted to be unless I lived like that myself.
“I entered the RAF Factor, the forces version of the X Factor, and got through to the final.
“I was great to be back on stage again, although I only came third, but the major blow was when I saw photos of myself on stage.
“It was horrendous. I thought the dress I had chosen held my figure well – but I was so wrong.”
“Seeing myself that way on stage was terrible. I realised I had to make a change.”
Spurred on to improve her life, Kelly started researching how to lose weight, and found an app for her phone which helped her lose weight.
She said: “I started by just eating salad. A handful of lettuce and two slices of cucumber, cut up into smaller bits.
“Basically I was trying to trick myself into thinking there was more food than there was by cutting it up into small bits.
“I did that for six months, but the real change came when I downloaded an app on my phone which encouraged me to do a seven minute workout circuit every day.
“Ever since then I have done seven minutes of exercise a day, which include push ups, sit ups, walking up and down the stairs, basically normal exercise.
“I noticed within a month that I was able to breathe more and had more energy. I was able to walk my children to school – something which I couldn’t do before even though it was only two miles away.
“I’m now walking nearly 10 miles a day, and have dropped to below 10 stone. My aim is to get to nine stone, and at that point I will stop being so drastic, but keep the exercise up.
“I’ve noticed a hell of a difference in my quality of life.”
Now, nearly 15 months later, Kelly is back on stage performing regular shows, has won a recording contract, and is audition to appear on The Voice.
She said: “”I now have a recording contract, with Down Town Artists and music is going well.
“My health is better than ever, life is looking up.
“I’m also hoping to go on The Voice this year, after being scouted at an open mic night in London. I’m just waiting to hear to see if I am going to make it onto the live show.
“I’m glad I saw myself on stage in that dress, when I weighed nearly 18 stone, it gave me the motivation I needed to make a change.”
Kelly, a full time mum, said she started making music when she was 15.
Formerly of Plymouth, Devon, she now lives in Bordon, Hampshire with her three children Emily-Rose, four, Isobel, Three, and Daniel, two, and her husband Craig Peffers, 30, who is in the RAF.
She said: “I was in college and in music class I was asked to sing ‘I Want it That Way’ by the Backstreet Boys.
“I closed my eyes because I was so nervous, and when I opened them again all the other kids had their mouths hanging open, they were astounded.”
“I then joined a school band and we played at local events, and did a gig in-front of 3,000 people in Cornwall.
“That was my first time on stage, it was terrifying but rewarding.
“We were called Flawless, and would regularly play in Devon and Cornwall, and even played in a battle of the bands alongside Muse, but Muse won.
“Then over time I joined other bands which eventually broke up, and I had a break from music to have a family.
“There was nearly two years where I didn’t do anything musical, but I started again after having my second child, Isobel.
“When I was pregnant with Isobel there were complications and I was unwell, and through recovery I had ballooned in weight up to 17st 4lbs.
Now that Kelly is nearing her target weight she looks back on the day she saw herself at her worst as a turning point, and is glad she was able to change her life for the better.
Her debut single, I’m an Alien, is now available to buy, and Kelly is looking forward to getting back on stage with her more manageable figure.
She said: “Everything is a complete change from how it was and I’m a lot more confident.”
