From fat to (seriously) fit: Size 20 woman swaps snacking for salads.....… and is now in line to become Miss England

A woman who was overweight all her life has finally managed to beat the bulge - and is now in line to win the Miss England pageant. More pics after the cut...

Emily Bunce, 23, a biomedical scientist from Stoke, was once a size 20 but has slimmed down to a svelte size 10 after deciding to take control of her eating once and for all.And her efforts certainly seem to have paid off. Two months ago, Miss Bunce won the Miss Mercia crown and will compete this weekend in the semi-finals of the Miss England pageant.

'I was always one of the bigger girls in the room,' explains the beauty queen, whose weight problems began in childhood.'I had to have my primary school summer dress made for me by my grandmother because the school ones wouldnt fit.'As she progressed through school, Miss Bunce was teased about her weight but says it never prevented her from doing the things she wanted. Instead, she threw herself into her studies and excelled at science but admits that despite her many achievements, she never felt particularly confident about her looks. 

'I struggled with what I saw in the mirror,' she reveals. 'Some days I liked what I saw but on many others, I didn't want to look. 'I remember bursting into tears while shopping for my prom dress because I couldn't wear what the other girls were going to wear. I found it hard to see the good in myself - I could only ever focus on my flaws.'The turning point came when Miss Bunce, who studied science at the university, completed her course in June 2013 and decided the time had come to make a change.

'I just didn't want to take my childhood angst with me into adulthood,' she says. 'Seeing some photos taken of me at my Leavers' Ball helped spur me on.'

Desperate to leave her weight woes behind with her childhood, she joined Slimming World and began to overhaul her diet. Out went the processed sauces and cheesy pastas she once enjoyed and in came healthy cous cous salads and jacket potatoes. Cheese, once a daily snack, became an occasional treat.

Not keen on the gym, Miss Bunce took up high-energy cheerleading instead and says because of the sport, her figure has never looked better.

'I'm part of an all-star cheerleading team called Twist Xtreem,' she explains. 'Why go to a gym and lift weights when you can lift people? It's so much fun and working out with some of your best friends beats the gym any day. I train twice a week for the large squad and once a week for my small stunt team.'I get bored with things like running so I found something unique that keeps me fit while being great fun.'So successful did the new eating plan prove, Miss Bunce went on to lose 3st 6lb and dropped six dress sizes from a 20 to a svelte 10. A further filip came in November 2014 when she was crowned 'Miss Slinky' by members of her Slimming World group. Enjoying the boost, Miss Bunce put her newfound confidence on the line and entered the Miss Coventry competition - and was delighted when she made the finals.

Then she heard about the Miss England pageant, decided to enter and has now made it to the semi-finals after winning the Miss Mercia 2015 title in the quarter-finals.

Now, she hopes to go all the way and make it to the finals of the Miss England competition which takes place in Coventry in August.'To win would be a dream come true,' she says. 'I hope my story will show people out there who think things won't get better. 'Grab life by the horns and throw yourself in the deep end of life and suddenly you'll learn things about yourself you never knew.'