'Trip from hell': Mum recalls embarrassing incident that inspired her to lose a whopping 96 kilos

A mother of one from Queensland has shared her "trip from hell" flight experience which inspired her to shed half her weight and transform her body.

Coca-Cola addict Sara Tuohey, who weighed 150kg and glugged eight cans of the soft drink a day, shed a whopping 96 kg after a traumatic experience on a Tiger Airways flight in 2014 when her daughter Scarlett was just five weeks old.

Tuohey, according to Mail Online, was mortified to be handed two extension seatbelts while travelling on a two-and-a-half hour flight from Brisbane to Melbourne for her grandmother's birthday.

Tuohey, who now lives in Horsham, Victoria, recalled: "I remember the look of disbelief on the flight attendant's face as I requested another extension seatbelt. I was so embarrassed, I just wanted to hide.

"I couldn't remember the last time I had flown without needing an extension seat belt but this time it was different, even with two it was still cutting into my legs and hurting me.

"I felt very claustrophobic and as if the whole plane was staring at me. Tears started building in my eyes – the whole plane ride, all I wanted to do was cry and scream."

The 27-year-old also went on to share details about how she couldn't even get her daughter a bottle. "As a mum, when your baby is screaming all you want to do is give them whatever they need. But I couldn't reach the bag on the floor for Scarlett's bottle because I couldn't move in my seat and was out of breath from the walk to the aircraft.

"It was horrible, I felt like a failure of a mother. There was a problem in the way of me being able to provide what I needed to for my daughter, and that problem was my weight and size.

"The whole plane ride all I wanted to do was cry and scream – I also needed to go to the toilet, but held off because I wouldn't fit in the cubicle. That night, I thought to myself "only I can change this. Something has to give.

In order to be around "my daughter for life", Sara signed up with an all-female gym and slowly began to increase her exercise by walking on a treadmill before joining a Zumba class.

Within two years she dropped 40kg, and later in May 2016 decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery, and now she feels "free".

She said: "I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am now. I feel free, like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. I feel more energised and healthy. I can even jump on the trampoline with my daughter. I am truly happy."