Watching slim, energetic Lorna Smith bustling in the kitchen as she prepares another clean, green meal for Urban Green Cuisine, it is hard to believe she once weighed 24 stone.

Lorna, who lives in central Swindon, is now literally half the woman she used to be – and following the revolution in her own life, she has set up a thriving new catering business creating healthy veggie and vegan food for clients who want tasty meals without the hassle of planning and preparing them.

Running her fledgling business from her flat in Old Town, Lorna whips up all sorts of tasty looking meals designed to be healthy and satisfying – as well as convenient for people with very busy lives.

Health and fitness are a big part of her life now – she exercises for at least five hours a week – but her journey has not been a simple or easy one.

“I’d always been big – even when I was at school,” she remembers. “I was bigger than most of my friends, and I was never into any kind of sport of fitness.”

Lorna, now 48, grew up in Wolverhampton and moved to Swindon when she was 18, for a job. Over the years she put on more weight and by the time she was 30, had reached the 24-stone mark.

“I always had people round for dinner,” she says. “And I was drinking too much.”

She lived in denial of the problem: “I did not notice it.”

Lorna trained as a chef and worked in catering until injuring herself in a fall at work. Afterwards, she started work in telesales selling catering services, and worked her way up to becoming bid manager – work she really enjoyed. Then in 2010 she was approach by Unipart to be a project manager, where she had a successful and busy career until she was made redundant last year.

But Lorna had started battling with her weight. “I had done all the yo-yo dieting, and all the diets you can think of,” she recalls. “But I realised I did not want to become a 58-year-old sat on the sofa barely able to get up.

“Now I feel so much better. You don’t realise how bad you feel. I remember being that big and thinking I was alright about it, then you realise you were not alright about it.”

Three years ago, Lorna was nearly eight stone heavier than she is now – but the reality was, there was no quick fix, and instead, slow, sustained weight loss.

In 2014, she started walking with a friend. The first time, she remembers feeling shattered after one lap of the park. But the walking helped and her fitness developed. In 2015 Lorna completed the Moonwalk in London, power walking her way around 26 miles in seven hours and ten minutes.

Her weight loss hit a long plateau however, until in September 2015 she signed up with Honour Health and Wellness, a personal training business. Now she trains five days a week and eats a consistent, healthy diet. Lorna does high intensity interval training and enjoys all sorts of physical activities such as walking, climbing and running events.

“The hardest part however is finding the motivation to sustain your new way of life and maintain a balanced approach to eating, exercising and enjoying yourself. Stay assured – this is entirely possible! You can conquer your goals.”

She explains: “Having a personal trainer in the beginning felt very weird. I was very self-conscious of how I looked when exercising and this was something I had to process and get over. However, having an open and honest partnership that turned into a friendship helped eradicate my original fears and worries.”

Lorna says she eats plenty, perhaps breakfasting on porridge with banana and peanut butter, having a snack mid-morning, lunch of cous cous, avocado, tomato and salsa, another healthy snack in the afternoon and then dinner in the evening.

Her mother is still surprised by the change: “She says that every time she sees me she gets a shock. She is really proud of what I’ve done. My mum was quite big too, and she says, fair play to you, for being so committed.”

In January she set up Urban Green Cuisine – offering freshly made vegan and vegetarian meals which she makes herself. Urban Green Cuisine offers menus of lunches, dinners and health snacks, all delivered to customers’ door using a bank of tried and tested recipes.

Lorna became a vegetarian in 2017, but says she was not eating a lot of meat anyway. Now her menus are based on plant foods.

“My philosophy with Urban Green Cuisine is that I offer food in its natural state, clean food, that’s tasty but really good for you. It’s about get back to the roots.

“I use lots of everyday spices, such as cinnamon. Put cinnamon on your porridge instead of sugar – it’s amazing.

“When I’m making a lentil Bolognese, use real tomatoes rather than a bought sauce. I dry roast the tomatoes and use fresh basil.”

Other dishes she makes include quinoa risotto, with kale and soybeans or peas, sweetcorn chowder, vegetarian balls with a roasted tomato garlic sauce and lentil pasta, roasted vegetables with turmeric, curry sauce with coconut milk, Thai vegetable fritters, salads and rice bowls. UBC breakfasts might include porridge cooked as muffins, or pancakes. If I want to build up the business, at some point I will need to give up my job and find other premises. For now, I am concerned with getting the name across, and building a strong foundation,” Lorna said. “I want to create a good name, and then take it from there, slowly and in a sustainable manner.”

In the meantime, Lorna is enjoying her new healthy, active life. “I love being outdoors,” she said. “It’s so nice to be healthy! My skin’s better, my hair’s better, my life’s better.”

Five lunches costs £35, and five lunches and five dinners costs £70. To see some tantalising pictures of Lorna’s cookery, Visit her instagram.com/urbangreencuisine. For more information, visit www.urbangreen.uk.com.