Weight loss star Helena Hanson has shed 10 stone by making just a few diet swaps and walking 10 minutes a day.

The 24 stone woman nicknamed “heifer” because she was so big lost 10 stone after being fat-shamed by cruel strangers in a pub who called her a “fat cow”.

Helena Hanson, 32, from Pulborough in West Sussex, soared to a size 26 after marrying her husband, 33-year-old Matthew, a fitter for a shower company, in 2007.

A size 10 when they met in 2001 through mutual friends, she became “complacent” following cosy nights in.

Over eight years, she gained a mammoth 12 stone 6lbs – although neither she nor Matthew minded.

She stuffed herself with creamy pasta dishes and takeaways like curry and kebabs, washed down with sugary alcopops.

“I used to drink a lot and with that came pizzas, kebabs and curry,” she confessed. “I’d have white toast and a large portion of peanut butter in the morning, sandwiches for lunch and big bowls of pasta for dinner, with two or three glasses of wine.

“On a weekend, I’d have WKD Blue, Smirnoff Ice, vodka Red Bulls and Jagerbombs.

“My problem is that I’m a picker – I’d pick at cake and biscuits if I was bored.”

Within just a few years, Helena more than doubled her weight and, at her heaviest, stood on the scales at 23st 6lbs.

Her turning point came after two strangers called her a “fat cow” in her local pub The Queen’s Head in West Chiltington.

Hurt and ashamed, in September 2013 she started to walk for 10 minutes every day.

She also swapped white bread for brown bread, made homemade salads and cut out fatty treats and sugar-laced drinks.

Within 18 months she had lost four stone and joined WeightWatchers in January 2015, losing a further five-and-a-half stone.

Now, at a svelte size 12 and weighing 13 stone 13lbs, Helena is just one stone away from her target weight.

The 5’11” blonde, looks like a different woman.

But Helena is still critical about some parts of her body, especially the loose skin on her tummy and arms.

She said: “Ideally I’d like to have skin removal surgery on the arms but it’s big money.”

She continued: “I’m trying to do the best I can with them but skin can only bounce back so much.”

She hated clothes shopping when she was morbidly obese and bought all her clothes online as she didn’t want to brave the shops.

“I love clothes shopping whereas before I could only go to a handful of shops,” she said.

“Matt is really proud of me, he has been a great support the whole way through.

“I definitely feel like a new woman, I’m learning to love myself which I never thought was possible.”

Another woman managed a ten stone weight loss by cutting pizza from her diet.