MUIRKIRK mum Lynette McLean has won a national award — for being a loser.

The 34-year-old mum of three lost an amazing 7st 6lbs which earned her the title of Scottish Slimmers Biggest Loser at the organisation’s awards ceremony.

It took place at Glasgow’s Studio 93 and, after collecting her glittering trophy, technical assistant Lynette revealed what made her decide to shed the pounds.

For most couples seeing their wedding pictures is an exciting milestone in a marriage and is a memory to look back on for the rest of their lives. As well as a cherished memento of a special day, it also reminds Lynette and husband Craig of how they used to look like – before they lost over 10st between them.

She said: “We got married in September 2011 and after getting the pictures back from the photographer I decided it was time to lose weight. Craig and I tried various diets and slimming clubs which all started well enough before we inevitably gave up and I ended up heavier than when we started.

“We finally decided to give it another go and joined Scottish Slimmers just over a year ago, in March 2016. We had booked a family holiday to Majorca for October 2016 so my aim was to try and lose weight for our holiday.”

Lynette would wear Craig’s shorts on holiday to cover up over her swimsuit because she felt so self conscious and uncomfortable.

Not any more though...by October, Lynette had lost 4½ stone and was well on her way to being the weight she always wanted to be.

“While I wasn’t at my target weight I felt comfortable enough to enjoy the pools and water parks with our children without feeling self-conscious and miserable,” she added.

Since coming back from her holiday, Lynette has gone on to lose even more, slimming from size 18 to a 10 and finally hearing the target bell ring in May 2017.

Husband Craig has now lost more than 4st, having followed the Scottish Slimmers eating plan, which fitted into Lynette’s lifestyle relatively easy.

Both of them work full time as well as caring for their three children, Jake, Kelsie and Miley, who are aged 12, nine and seven and now join their parents as an active family.

“People ask if we have a secret to our weight loss, we say no secret, just follow the Scottish Slimmers eating plan – it works. We genuinely look forward to the weekly class and Jan Davidson, the class manager, is absolutely lovely and made us feel part of the group right from the start. Jan’s encouragement definitely helped us stay motivated.”

Now the McLeans, instead of sitting in front of the TV at night, take long walks together as a family with their dog Blue.

“I never felt as though I had any energy to play with the children. Now we really enjoy doing things as a family and I also take them swimming every week as part of my new fitness regime. Before losing weight I would never have gone swimming,” Lynette added.