I cried every day over my looks until I lost 7st without fat jabs – I did it just by talking & never paid for a gym
It was 2023 and Cassie was overweight and her personal life was falling apart.
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'I just couldn't stop crying, literally,' she says.
'I'd wake up in the morning and I would start crying, and would be having a mental breakdown from seven o'clock in the morning.
'I told my parents I just didn't want to be here. I just felt - I couldn't do this anymore'
Cassie, from Poole, Dorset, had made herself bankrupt, ended her relationship with her two children's dad, and, at size 26, couldn't bear to look at herself in the mirror.
Her binge eating habits had seen her health decline and she felt terrible about herself.
So taking her mum's advice, Cassie, now 28, made an appointment to see her GP.
'I cried at the surgery, I felt like I was beyond help,' she admits.
Cassie was signed up for counselling, and with support from a therapist, she realised she needed to make significant changes to her life and started to double down on diet and exercise.
She says it was her unhealthy relationship with food that saw her pile on the pounds ballooning to 17st.
'I felt so bad about myself that I was regularly binge eating to make myself feel better,' she says.
I look unrecognisable after my 14st weight loss - it's like my partner has brand new girlfriend
'I tried not to keep any unhealthy food in the house, so if I was feeling down I would go to the shop and get a big bag full of chocolate and crisps and just eat it throughout the day.'
But the daily treats left her feeling worse about herself, and the resulting low mood would force her to seek comfort in yet more food.
'I felt terrible,' she says.
'I couldn't walk to my parents house ten minutes away without getting out of breath and having heart palpitations, and I felt self conscious about myself, so I never took my son swimming.'
Cassie couldn't afford a gym membership, so she began doing short home workouts, using her children as weights, incorporating her toddlers into a range of workouts, including squats, shoulder presses, planks and arm curling.
The kids loved it and the endorphin buzz she felt afterwards was only helped when she saw the weight starting to fall off.
But she would slip, fall back into the binges and put the weight back on.
'My therapist believes I have a sugar addiction, because it's the only thing that I really ever go for, whether it's sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks,' she says.
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'I crave it all of the time and once I start, I find it very hard to stop.
'And sometimes these binges will last for two or three months at a time, so it's a continued effort every day.'
With the help of her therapist Cassie was able to change her eating habits, sticking to healthy well-rounded meals and good portion sizes.
Now two years since she made the call to the doctor she has lost an incredible seven stone and is now a size ten.
Remarkably, Cassie has now set up a baking business from her own home, which she can run from her own kitchen around the kids which is helping her to get out of debt.
She is also careful to ensure there are never any goodies or cake decorations left over.
'When I first started, I used to struggle, and I used to eat a lot of my treats,' she says.
The 5 best exercises to lose weight
By Lucy Gornall, personal trainer and health journalist
EXERCISE can be intimidating and hard to devote yourself to. So how do you find the right workout for you?
As a PT and fitness journalist, I've tried everything.
I've taken part in endless fitness competitions, marathons and I maintain a regime of runs, strength training and Pilates.
Fitness is so entrenched in my life, I stick to it even at Christmas!
The key is finding an activity you love that can become a habit.
My top five forms of exercise, especially if you're trying to lose weight, are:
Walking
Running
Pilates
High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
Strength training
'But now I make sure I don't have any spares.
'I bake everything to order but any extras will get raffled off or donated.
"I can't keep anything around the flat because if I do, I will get to the evening and I will eat it.'
And while her children, Rubie, four and Broden, five are now too big to be lifted above her head, she encourages them to join in with her exercise, doing short, low impact workouts using weights and other home equipment.
She has now amassed hundreds of thousands of followers online, detailing her weight loss journey.
Like most influencers, she is subjected to constant hate. But it is like water off a duck's back.
I am happy and healthy now and emotionally and physically strong, and know I am still capable of so much more
Cassie Morrison
'It doesn't actually bother me. I've done a lot of work over the years to filter all the negative comments out,' she says.
'Now, I'm just aware that when someone leaves a negative comment it's a reflection on them; they are just projecting their insecurities.
'I feel very proud of how far I have come.
"I am happy and healthy now and emotionally and physically strong, and know I am still capable of so much more.
"Great things are going to happen in my life; it is just a matter of time.'
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