A woman who had been overweight since childhood decided to lose weight when she hit 320lbs - and dropped 12 stone without surgery or weight-loss jabs. Jessica Beniquez, 30 began her journey in 2016 after leaving school and reached her current weight of around 10.7stone (150lbs) by 2018, maintaining the loss ever since.

And she says the hardest part hasn’t been losing the weight, it’s been changing how she sees herself. “I lost the weight years ago, but sometimes I still identify as the girl who is losing weight,” Jessica said. “That identity sticks with you.”

Jessica had been overweight throughout her school years. She said: " I finally reached a point where I said, ‘Enough, I don’t want to feel like this anymore’. I ended up losing more than 170lbs (77kg) naturally,

• Coronation Street Catherine Tyldesley's marriage to ITV star including cancer scare


• Beyond Paradise's Kris Marshall makes parenting admission 'I'm losing him'

“It wasn’t Ozempic and it wasn’t weight-loss surgery, and I’m not knocking those at all. But what worked for me was staying in a calorie deficit and exercising consistently.”

Today Jessica works out six days a week. She said: “For years my entire identity online has been about losing weight. Even now people will comment things like, ‘Keep going, you’ve got this.’ And I appreciate the support, but I’m not trying to lose weight anymore, I’m maintaining.”

Jessica says that feeling stuck in the “weight-loss identity” can be surprisingly difficult to move past. “When you grow up overweight, those are the years where you’re forming who you are,” she says.

“Your mind is like a sponge during those years. Even though I’ve changed so much, that version of me will always be part of my story.”

Her social media platforms document the entire journey, from her early struggles to the healthy lifestyle she maintains today. Jessica now works as a coach, sharing advice on fitness, balance and body positivity.

“I love helping people improve their lives,” she says. “But sometimes when you work in this space it can feel like you should always be chasing another weight-loss goal, and that’s not where I’m at anymore.”

Instead, she says her focus is now on consistency rather than chasing a smaller number on the scale. “The goal for me now isn’t to be super thin,” she explains. “That used to be the goal years ago, but not anymore. The goal now is simply showing up for myself and doing the things that make me feel good.”

That includes regular exercise, balanced meals and allowing herself the occasional treat. “Working out makes me feel good. Eating food that fuels my body makes me feel good. Even having ice cream now and then makes me feel good,” she says.

“But balance matters. I’m not going to eat brownies or a whole tray of cookies every single day.”

Jessica credits much of her success to building discipline over time. “When people ask how I lost the weight, the truth is I learned to say no,” she explains. “I said no to things that weren’t going to help me reach my goals. I said no to habits that were holding me back.”

Simple habits like tracking her meals and planning ahead played a major role in her success. “If you want to know whether you’re actually in a calorie deficit, you need to track your meals,” she says. “I know it can feel annoying and sometimes people forget, but if you want results you have to set yourself up for success.”

She says planning meals ahead of time is one of the easiest ways to stay consistent. “Planning your meals ahead makes everything easier,” she adds.

“It removes the guesswork and helps you stay on track.”

In 2018, around the same time she was maintaining her transformation, jessica received a diagnosis that she had stage-4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “And I hate bringing it up sometimes because everyone goes through hard things,” she says. “But it was a huge moment in my life.”

Despite the diagnosis and the physical toll of treatment, Jessica refused to give up on her health. And she actually became cancer free in 2019. “I kept going,” she says. “I didn’t let that set me back.”

A few years later she faced another heartbreak when her mum died. “It was incredibly difficult,” she says. “But again, I kept going.”

Instead of letting those experiences derail her progress, Jessica says they strengthened her determination. “Hard things can either break you or build you,” she explains. “For me, they built my character.”

Now she hopes her story can inspire others who may be struggling with their own health journeys. “It doesn’t have to be perfect,” she says. " It just has to be consistent.”

Jessica believes many people think weight loss requires extreme discipline forever, but in reality, it’s about building habits over time.

“It’s not about dieting for the rest of your life,” she says. “It’s about building discipline for a while until those habits become part of your lifestyle.” Nearly ten years after she first decided to change her life. Jessica says she’s proud of the transformation she’s achieved, even if her mindset sometimes takes longer to catch up.

“I’m not that same girl anymore,” she says. “But she will always be part of my story.” And today, the focus isn’t about losing more weight. “When I say I’m still going,” Jessica adds, “I mean I’m still showing up for myself.”