Sarah shared her incredible transformation on the Kmart Mums Australia Facebook page. Photo / Supplied
A New South Wales mum, fed up with not fitting into clothes from her favourite store, has transformed her life — losing almost 42kg on the "Kmart diet".
Sarah Hill, 28, from the Hunter Region (north of Sydney), shared some before and after photos of herself in two different Kmart outfits, saying she was proud of herself for "working my butt off" to lose the weight.
The post quickly went viral, attracting more than 7500 likes and hundreds of comments of support for the young mum's "incredible transformation".
Posting to the Kmart Mums Australia Facebook group's 333,000 members, Sarah revealed she now fits into a Kmart size 12, but the secret behind these photos is what has everyone talking.
"When you're in a relationship, prioritising your health goes straight out the window," she said.
"I just wasn't myself, mentally and physically, and I wasn't giving my all to daughter Abby."
Sarah ended the relationship in 2016 and was "horrified" when she learned she weighed 130kg.
"It was the biggest I had ever been, and it was terrifying," she said.
"It was really the tipping point for me."
After, Sarah enrolled in a free bootcamp in her neighbourhood and went to classes four times a week, with Abby strapped into the pram beside her.
"When you're the biggest and slowest person by far, all you're thinking about is how everyone was probably judging and laughing at you," she said.
"It was embarrassing for me to put myself out there, but I just told myself that everyone has to start somewhere."
She also reduced the size of her meal portions and began the 5:2 diet, which incorporates two days of intermittent fasting.
According to Sarah, the main motivation for her weight loss was to be able to fit back into the Kmart clothes she'd admired for so long — dubbing her new healthy lifestyle the "Kmart diet".
"I wanted to be able to walk into a store that wasn't a plus-sized shop, see something cute, get it in my size and feel confident in it."
"That's just not something you can do when you weigh 130kg. It's an entire process to go shopping."
The moment she slipped into the size 12 outfit, Sarah said she couldn't wipe the grin off her face.
"It was the first summer outfit I had worn where I felt confident showing a little bit of skin. I felt like a young woman again, and I can't describe how happy that made me," she said.
According to Sarah, her relationship with daughter Abby has also improved since the weight loss, and she now has a new partner, Tyler.
"It's so nice to have the confidence to play with Abby and hopefully teach her to have the same self-worth," she said.
Sarah's story prompted massive support from the Facebook group members, with many congratulating her on her transformation and asking what her secret was.
"Wow you should be very proud of yourself," one member wrote.
Others said the mum's incredible photos had left them "speechless".
"Wow you're incredible! Amazing! You look fantastic!" another member wrote.