I’m a mum and people think me and my son, 19, are the same age – I look young because I work out twice a day and don’t drink

A mother says she looks so young that she is often mistaken for her teenage son’s friend.

Sarah Reid, 43, from Kingswood, south Gloucestershire, says she could pass herself off as her 19-year-old son Damian’s best friend, all thanks to a strict lifestyle of exercising twice a day and no alcohol or smoking.

The mother of two, who said she is regularly asked for her ID in bars and supermarkets, also showed off her secret weapon for her youthful appearance: she doesn’t wear makeup.

The former caregiver, who used to weigh 350 pounds before vowing to lose weight when she was pregnant with her son Damien, says strangers now mistake her for Damien’s friend rather than his mother because of her unyielding habits.

She recalls: ‘A few years ago I went to Subway with my teenager and the waiter asked Damien, “What do you want, friend?”

‘It’s happened to me before, like when I went to Pride with Damien. Sometimes it’s frustrating, like when I cause a queue in the supermarket.

‘I never drink alcohol or smoke, I keep fit and I never wear make-up because I have sensitive skin’.

The mother, who once met Princess Anne, also has an obsessive fitness regime that includes working out first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

She used to weigh 145 kilos, but when she was nine months pregnant with Damien, she promised to run the London Marathon, to the surprise of her colleagues.

‘People didn’t think I could run the London Marathon,’ she said; ‘My colleague laughed at me. I was determined to prove them wrong.’

She lost 75 kilos in two and a half years and completed the Bristol Half Marathon in 2006 and 2007.

In 2008 she ran the London Marathon, in which she clocked a time of four hours and 26 minutes.

She added: ‘I have shown [my colleague] the medal after[wards] and it wiped the smile off his face’.

However, the energetic mother has been battling a series of health issues due to epilepsy, which reached a peak in 2016.

While working as a caregiver for vulnerable adults, Sarah began to suffer from five seizures a day, and the situation became too serious for the mother to continue her work.

After undergoing brain surgery in 2016, she has kept fit, but due to her epileptic seizures, she chooses to exercise at home.

She said, “I have my own routine: I exercise an hour and a half before anyone else wakes up.”

Sarah also works out on her stepper in the evening, often while watching a movie.

Her current Weight Watchers plan involves Sarah earning points for different exercises and aiming to reach a weight of 18 every day.

A 15-minute walk is considered one point, while 15 minutes on the stepper is worth two points.

The gruelling routine has paid off, as Sarah recalls when, at age 40, she was asked to show her ID when buying a beer for her father’s birthday.

She continued: ‘I don’t have a driver’s license and I don’t often take my passport with me, so I always ask, “Is my disabled bus pass valid?”‘

Sarah now lives with her husband and carer, Mark, 48, and their two children, Damien, 19, and Lauren, 12.

She spends her time volunteering and over the years has raised over £18,000 for charities working with epilepsy, young carers and domestic abuse.

Sarah advises people who want to look younger to find an activity they enjoy doing.

She said, “Find something you enjoy. I tried a lot of different sports, but I struggled with things like tennis.

‘I started skating and I really enjoyed it’.

Every now and then Sarah rewards herself with a visit to Wetherspoons for a vegan pizza.

R