A woman has revealed how she lost half her body weight to go from a size 22 to a size six.  

Melody Buck from Hampshire lost nine stone in 18 months, taking her from 18 stone to 9.5 stone – a transformation she admits has ‘changed my life’. 

The 23-year-old, who works in customer success, began going to the gym in August 2023 and made significant changes to her diet. 

Previously, Mel explained, she would enjoy a diet of nutella on toast, following by a McDonalds for lunch and 2,000 calories worth of pasta for dinner each day.

Now, along with going to the gym three to four times a week, she has swapped it out for ‘high protein’ meal choices, but still makes sure she enjoys an occasional treat and hasn’t cut anything out completely. 

Speaking to FEMAIL, Mel explained: ‘I mean, it’s just changed everything really. Up and going to the gym in the mornings mentally makes me feel better. I can go into a clothes shop and know that they’re going to have my size. 

‘I can try on something and decide whether I like it because it looks nice, not because it covers all the bits I want to and it’s kind of the only option I’ve got.

‘And day to day life is just better. I want to go out and do walks. I want to go out and try new things. 

Melody Buck (pictured before her weight loss), from Hampshire, has revealed how she went from a size 22 to a size six

‘I’m not afraid to bump into people that I used to know, because I’ve got so much bigger, even just little things like going to the theatre, you know that you’re going to be able to fit in the seats and getting on a plane you haven’t got to worry about being squished in. 

‘I don’t feel like my weight is getting in the way of my life anymore.’

In 2023, Mel had bought a house in the Midlands with her ex-partner, but moved back home with her dad when they broke up in June. 

In August, her father, who regularly goes to the gym, asked if she wanted to go too – and Mel decided to give it a go.  

‘I kind of just went to shut him up,’ she explained, but after meeting her friend Beth, who enjoyed good food and weight training, she started going five times every week. 

Within two weeks, the ‘weight just started falling off’, and Mel was inspired to also start making changes to her diet. 

‘I just didn’t want to leave the house before,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t like meeting new people. 

‘I wouldn’t like seeing friends because they’d see how much bigger I’ve got. I didn’t want to go shopping because nothing would ever fit. 

Mel says her life has completely changed after losing nine stone in 18 months (pictured after)

She still goes to the gym around four times a week and has a new healthier meal plan (pictured after)

She started going to the gym in 2023 with her dad, after moving back home following a break-up (pictured before)

‘I used to dread the summer because it’s boiling hot, and you’re sweating, and you wear very little clothes. I mentally, I was just in an awful place. 

‘I had such low self-esteem, no self respect, which I think shows to everyone. Why would you expect other people to have respect for you when you don’t have it for yourself?’

Mel still goes to the gym around four times a week to do weight training, usually three leg days and two upper body days.

She’s kept up with her healthy eating and she’s now focusing on maintaining her weight, usually opting for a caramelised apple porridge in the mornings, and high-protein lunch and dinner options. 

Previously, she said she would usually have nutella on toast for breakfast, followed by a McDonalds for lunch and around 2,000 of calories of pasta each evening, weighing between 300 to 400g before being cooked. 

She would also tend to snack on biscuits and cake, taking handfuls of sweets from the jar after dinner each evening.  

However, her biggest advice is to never restrict yourself completely, otherwise you risk going back to ‘old cycles’. 

Mel says that you can keep having the occasional McDonalds and still maintain your weight loss if it helps to ‘make things manageable’.  

Previously, Mel said she was around a size 20 to size 22 (left), and is now size six to eight (right)

Previously, Mel enjoyed a McDonalds for lunch, following by a bag of pasta for dinner (pictured before)

Now, she focuses on making high protein and healthy meals, but advises against restricting your diet

She started her fitness journey by going to the gym five times a week, and then focused on what she ate

Mel says the key to her success is being ‘disciplined’, when people ask her how she stays so motivated

She said: ‘You see loads of stuff online, of people saying, “well, you need to eat a certain amount of protein, and you can’t eat this, and you can only eat this, and you know, don’t eat processed foods”, and in my opinion that’s just rubbish.

‘So my advice to anyone wanting to start would be just do what’s manageable at the current time, and when you’re ready to add new nutrition bits and pieces in or new exercises in, then do it.

‘But a lot of the time people can’t follow through with weight loss, because they change everything, and it’s to slip back into their old habits. 

‘I would never suggest that people cut stuff out because otherwise you just binge it and go back to the cycle of being unhappy again.’

Mel is now documenting her transformation on her TikTok account @melody.buck, sharing her tips and tricks for maintaining weight loss, and meal ideas.  

Previously, Mel said she would be worried about leaving the house, and even going to the theatre (pictured before)

She’s shared a series of before and after photos of her nine stone weight loss (before)

She will now get up at 6.30am to go to the gym and says it’s all about staying disciplined

It took just two weeks for Mel to start noticing a difference, and the weight ‘started falling off’

Previously, she also struggled with self-esteem and self-respect, but is now feeling more confident than ever

She says that her weight loss is more due to her ‘discipline’ than motivation, as she gets up at 6.30am to go to the gym. 

‘A lot of people have said to me, oh, I wish I had your motivation,’ Mel reflected. 

‘I wish I was that motivated, but I don’t actually think it has to do with motivation, because when I wake up in the morning, I don’t think, woo hoo, I want to go to the gym. It’s more discipline. 

‘When you are a big weight like I was, it seems unachievable and it seems like, why would I bother, I’m never going to get to that. 

‘In my opinion, if you want it bad enough, you can.’