A super-slimming beauty queen who battled the bulge to reach the finals of Miss England is now giving tips to other hopefuls who want to lose weight.
Miss London Jessica Kang ballooned to 13-and-a-half stone at her peak, after munching on chocolate bars and takeaways while working as a council officer.
The stunning Miss England 2021 finalist, dropped four dress sizes to a size eight, after shedding four stone by eating healthily and going to the gym.
Jessica, 23, realised how much weight she had gained after being shocked at seeing pictures of herself on social media.
She said: “Three years ago I was very overweight and weighed 13-and-a-half stone and I could not even imagine going into anything like this.
“I always dreamed of being a model and doing things like that.
“But my mental health was really bad and I had just hit rock bottom because of my weight and I didn’t like the way I looked.
“I had no motivation to exercise and my eating habits were not great and it was hard to get into that lifestyle.
“I’m a bit of a chocoholic and would eat them to give me energy.
“I just struggled quite a lot with my confidence and self-esteem.
“I had no confidence at all but I just didn’t want to live like that anymore and was really at my lowest.”
Jessica, of Ealing, decided to tackle her weight issues head on after remembering her childhood dream of competing in Miss England.
She said: “I applied to enter about a year ago as a few people had said to me that I should give it a go.
“I used to watch the contests on the telly and was into it and would watch it all as a kid.
“It was a dream of mine to enter Miss England so when I remembered this it gave me the motivation to change my lifestyle.
“I just thought to myself that I need to stop moping around and stop this as I’m not happy with the way I look and I have all these big dreams and things I wanted to do.”
Jessica ditched chocolate for fruit and started exercising at her local gym five times a week.
And it was while she was working out that she met her current partner who is a personal trainer.
She added: “My current partner is into the gym and bodybuilding.
“He’s had a big part to play in it as well but it was my drive mentally and just something I thought I needed to do.
“People began noticing like my friends and family and work colleagues.
“I used to wear baggy jumpers and not wear any makeup as I just felt so bad about myself.
“But I started to feel good and noticed a huge difference. I felt healthy and good within myself.”
Jessica was named Miss London last May and will now compete for the chance to be crowned Miss England in April.
She is now using her own experience to help other women, and Miss England hopefuls, to lose weight healthily.
She said: “I have never been into pageants and never competed in anything like this before it’s my first ever competition and I won it and it all meant so much to me.
“I am now aiming to become a personal trainer this year so I can help others achieve their goals.
“Most of it came down to the way I looked and how I felt about myself and my appearance and that came across within my confidence and self-esteem.
“This is why I try to encourage people when I can to not give up, that you can change your life around and you need to have a strong mind and willpower.
“I also film some videos of myself working out including leg and arm workouts and stretches.
“People think it’s the gym that is hard but actually it is the meal prepping that is the hardest part but that is how I have done it really.
“And also being really consistent but I also do love chocolate and I would have that most days but it’s what powers me while I’m in the gym.”
Jessica Kang’s weight-loss tips:
1.Workout at home
“Because there are no gyms open at the moment due to coronavirus my tip is to do home workouts when you can.”
2.Ditch fast food
“I used to eat a lot of takeaways and fizzy drinks. When I was working in the office in town there were so many places to choose from for lunch.
“We’d have an hour lunch break and took it in turns to go to either McDonald’s, Nandos or KFC.
“Swapping fast food for healthy options can really help.”
3.Smaller portions
“I’d eat quite large portion sizes so I would end up eating a lot of carbs. I’d end up eating even when I wasn’t hungry.
“The food I eat now depends on my workouts so I will eat more carbs on days when I’m training my legs.”
4.Drink healthy
“I used to have lots of fizzy drinks but now I don’t drink anything apart from water and green tea in the mornings.
“I drink four litres of water and I aim to finish it by the end of each day.”
Jessica and the other 16 contestants can be voted for on the new Miss England App which can be downloaded at: https://www.missengland.info
