A sex abuse victim who lost nine stone in eight months says thinning down changed her life.

Kim Jones, 25, from Orpington, fell into a deep depression after being groomed and sexually abused by a man when she was between the ages of 11 and 15.

"My anxiety was sky high," she told News Shopper.

"I became very withdrawn and didn’t care about myself. I became an emotional eater and piled on the weight."

The man who abused her has since been jailed.

Her life changed in March when she spontaneously signed up to a six-week health challenge with The Fitness Link, a bootcamp centre managed by married couple JP and Lucy West in Green Street Green. 

Despite signing up, Kim was reluctant to go through with it until her mum paid a deposit of £299.

"I didn’t have a lot of money, so my mum did that for me. I knew then I couldn’t fail at this," Kim laughed.

Another motivating factor was to alter her appearance, a coping mechanism to help deal with her abusive past.

Kim, who said she was "in a complete mess" before joining the fitness programme, explained: "It sounds silly, but I wanted to completely change the way I looked. Going out made me feel so anxious. If I can change how I look, I wouldn’t have to worry anymore."

After the six-week challenge, Kim maintained going to The Fitness Link after feeling the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Fitting in so easily was a surprise to her, after acknowledging she can be reserved around new people.

Kim has now lost nine stone since March, which is the equivalent of how much her coach Lucy weighs.

"I have lost a total of what Lucy weighs, which is pretty cool," Kim, who has dropped to 83kg, said.

 

She added: "I’m only now starting to feel happy with how I look.

"I’m very hard on myself. It took so long for me to see myself as good enough, but everyone was so supportive.

“JP and Lucy are really good for that. They believed in me and I needed that. They changed my life."

Kim is now determined to help other people transform their lives and is even considering becoming a personal trainer.

JP and Lucy, who have 40 years of experience in the fitness industry, described Kim’s journey as inspirational.