• Max Freeman, 42, saw weight hit 22st 3lb after comforting eating following brother's death
  
• Underwent gastric bypass and shed eleven stone in 18 months
• Proudly chronicled her change from a size 28 to a trim size 10
  
• Took photo every time she lost another stone
• Now has three small meals a day with healthy snacks

By Bianca London

PUBLISHED: 06:21 EST, 9 August 2013 | UPDATED: 06:47 EST, 9 August 2013

A mother of two shed half her bodyweight so that her young boys could fit their arms around her for a proper cuddle.

Max Freeman, 42, lost her brother in a motorbike accident when she was a teenager and turned to comfort eating as a way to control her grief.

But as the years passed she saw her weight rise to 22st 3lb and subsequently spent decades trying fad diets - and even dangerous slimming pills - to control her weight. 

Max despaired of finding a method that would help her shed the pounds and watched her weight yo-yo through her 20s and 30s.

She was finally shocked into drastic weight-loss surgery when her boys Luke and Jack stopped hugging her because they couldn’t get their arms around her.

Max, who is just 5ft 5in tall, took the decision to undergo a gastric bypass and shed 11st in 18 months.

She proudly chronicled her change from a size 28 to a size 10 by taking a photo every time she lost another stone.

And with her weight down to 11st 2lb, nine year-old Luke and Jack, seven, can now give their mother a proper cuddle.

Max, a former private hospital chef from Maidstone, Kent said: 'I lost my brother Darren when I was 16.

'He was only 18 and my mum was grieving and I was on my own a lot and I comfort ate.

'It just carried on from there. I was a massive chocoholic and pasta was my real comfort food.

'I tried everything and I was constantly on a diet or going to slimming clubs.

'My weight was really getting me down and I wanted to be around to see my sons grow up.

'My doctor suggested the bypass. Having such a big operation was absolutely terrifying, but I’ve felt great ever since.

'I decided to take pictures as they helped me see how far I had come - I was amazed how quickly my body changed.

'My family have been really supportive and I think my brother would have been proud of me.

'Both my children can get their arms around me now. It is lovely. And I hope I am a good example to them.'

Max, who is married to painter and decorator Peter, 52, underwent the gastric bypass op at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, in November 2011.

Medics re-routed her digestive system past most of her stomach, meaning she digests less food and feels full after smaller amounts.

She now has three small meals a day with healthy snacks and even takes her sons to football practice early so she can enjoy a kick around with them before their training.