Mother loses five STONE to transform herself into a bikini babeÂ Sheryl Kearney, 23, weighed 14st 7lb and was left embarrassed by her body Moved to sunny Cyprus with her Army husband, Sam Kearney, 28Â Lived on a diet of fattening chips, burgers and sugary cerealÂ Eating plan left her too embarrassed to wear a bikini on the beach Has now slimmed down from a size 18 to a svelte size eight Now back in the UK, mother-of-two has set up her own slimming groupÂ A mother-of-two has shed an impressive five stone after being too embarrassed to hit the beach in a bikini - despite living in sunny Cyprus. Sheryl Kearney, 23, from Cottesmore in Sussex, weighed 15st when she moved to the island and wore size 18 clothes. But after swapping an unhealthy diet of chips and sugary cereal for healthy salads, Mrs Kearney is now a slim size eight and weighs just 8st 12lb. Sheryl has managed to drop from nearly 15st and a size 18 (left) to just 8st 12lb and a size 10 (right) Â Mrs Kearney, who married husband Sam, 28, in 2010 and now has two sons, Jack, three, and Isaac, one, says she has always struggled with her weight. 382 shares But when the couple relocated to Cyprus, Mrs Kearney was left miserable and covered up her size 18 frame with leggings and dark clothes - despite the 30 degreeÂ heat. She even installed a temporary swimming pool in her back garden, even though the beach was just metres from her doorstep. Â 'I wanted to use the beach, but I was far too embarrassed to go there,;' explained Mrs Kearney. 'It's a shame I spent my first year living in Cyprus stuck inside.Â 'When I lost the weight, I loved finally getting to the beach in my bikini and feeling proud of my body.'Â Sheryl said she didn't have time for a wedding diet and was forced to walk down the aisle in a size 18 dress Despite living just meters from the beach in Cyprus (left) Sheryl was too embarrassed to wear a bikini After eating healthily through her pregnancy with son Jack, Sheryl decided it was time to make a changeÂ Mrs Kearney was living on an unhealthy diet of what she describes as 'rubbish' throughout her teens, and continued to do so in the run up to her wedding. But shortly after the couple married, Corporal Kearney, of 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, was posted to Cyprus for two years. 'There was barely time to plan the ceremony, let alone think about a wedding diet,' remembers a rueful Mrs Kearney. I crammed my bulky body into my corseted wedding dress and forced myself to think about married life in sunny Cyprus with my perfect man. I may not have had my dream wedding body, but I was tying the knot with my dream man and I told myself that was the most important thing. Stationed in paradise, the pair had an apartment which overlooked the Mediterranean. But despite living a stone's throw from the beach, Mrs Kearney couldn't face squeezing into her bikini.Â Gone are the days when Sheryl covered up her size 18 frame with leggings and dark clothes despite the 30 degree celsius heat (left) and she is now confident in a tiny two-piece (right) Â 'I just couldn't face the thought of baring my folds of flab on the beach, among the bikini-clad holidaymakers,' she says. 'When Sam was on leave from work, he'd convince me to join him on a sunshine stroll along the promenade but being with him only made things worse.Â The chafing on my legs was so bad I had to stop and sit down every few yards. We installed a pop-up pool in the back garden so I could cool off in the heat, even though we lived right by the sea. In August 2011, Mrs Kearney gave birth to her first son, Jack. After eating healthily throughout the pregnancy she knew it was time to change her diet and joined her local Slimming World group. Mrs Kearney used to eat two bowls of Coco Pops for breakfast, a baguette with chicken and butter for lunch and a burger with chips and onion rings for dinner. Throughout the day she would snack on biscuits and crisps. But with the help of diet experts, Mrs Kearney adopted a new eating regime, which now includes fresh fruit and natural yoghurt for breakfast, a stir fry made with fresh vegetables and lean chicken for lunch and a homemade lasagne for dinner. Sheryl no longer feels self conscious next to husband Sam (pictured with her and son Jack before she lost weight, left) Â Since her life-changing weight loss Mrs Kearney has launched her own Slimming World group in Oakham Throughout the day she snacks on fresh fruit and ham. 'I wanted to enjoy my last summer in Cyprus and I wanted to wear shorts rather than leggings,' adds Mrs Kearney. Finally, after a lot of hard work I felt confident enough to hit the beach in a bikini and for the first time I attracted glances from strangers for all the right reasons. My husband loves me no matter what I look like. But he loves how much more confident and happy I am now. Mrs Kearney also started walking for more than an hour every day, which combined with her healthy new diet, resulted in a dramatic 5st 3lb weight loss. When we moved back to England I went shopping with my mum. It felt fantastic to be able to treat myself to size eight dresses,' she adds. I had never enjoyed shopping for clothes and trying things on before.'Â