Who’s the daddy?

Teachers thought I’d traded in my hubby...

Settling in front of the TV, I tore open another bag of chocolate.

I offered the packet to my hubby Ben, 38. ‘Thanks, love,’ he grinned, grabbing a handful.

It was August 2016, and this was our nightly routine.

We’d put the kids to bed, flick on the telly and snack on sweet treats. We thought nothing of it.

Ben and I had always been big, never overly concerned about our weight.

We’d been friends as kids, lost touch. Then, 10 years on in February 2008, we got back in contact through family and hit it off. We married within two years. We desperately wanted a baby sibling for my daughter, Imogen, then aged 4, from a previous relationship.

In September 2010, Ben and I joined a slimming club to help my chances of getting pregnant.

We both lost a few pounds but didn’t make any major progress.

Then I missed a period. I was pregnant!

Jacob was born in October 2011. Throwing myself into motherhood, I stopped caring about my weight again. I was a size-20 but blissfully happy.

Only, as Jacob grew, I noticed how tired I was feeling. I’d need an afternoon nap every day.

Exercise was a struggle – if I tried to run, I’d be doubled over, breathless. Walking the dog was all I could manage.

Slowly, I realised how damaging my weight was to my health. Our snacking was out of control, our portion sizes huge.

We cooked healthy meals for the kids – spag bol, chilli... But Ben and I would pile enough on our plates for three.

One night in September 2016, I was scrolling through my phone when a story caught my eye.

It was about a couple who’d shed pounds on the Cambridge Weight Plan. They looked incredible. ‘That could be us!’ I told Ben. Ben wasn’t keen but I signed up. At my first one-to-one meeting, I got on the scales for the first time in years… 15st 5lb – how had that happened?

I was coming up to 40 and I was fatter than ever.

So I ate Cambridge meal

replacements for breakfast and lunch, cereal bars and soups, then a dinner of protein and veg.

The results were dramatic – I lost around 4lb a week!

In just 12 weeks, I weighed 12st 6lb and was a size-14. ‘You look amazing!’ Ben said. He’d had a recent health scare – a potentially cancerous lump on his ear.

Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but it was the push he needed.

By this point, I’d become a Cambridge Weight Plan consultant.

And my first client? Ben!

He weighed in at 21st 7lb.

‘We can do this together,’ I said.

Over the next months, we stuck to our plans, started to exercise. It was tough, but we were determined.

Four months on, I’d reached my goal weight of 10st 12lb.

Slipping comfortably into size-10 clothes, I admired my new figure in the mirror. I feel great! I thought. And Ben wasn’t far behind. He’d slimmed to 12st 12lb, fitting a men’s size Medium – a far cry from the XXXL T-shirts I used to buy him!

People who we’d known for years barely recognised us.

Then, as I collected Jacob from school one afternoon, a member of staff took me aside.

‘Has there been a change of circumstances at home?’ she asked.

‘No,’ I answered, feeling puzzled. ‘Why?’

‘Well, who was the man who picked up Jacob yesterday?’ I racked my brains. Ben had collected Jacob...

Then I realised.

She’d mistaken Ben for a new man!

Pulling out my phone, I showed her before and after pictures.

‘It’s Ben,’ I laughed.

Just slimmer and fitter!

Ben thought it was hilarious. And we don’t just look different, we feel different, too.

We’re more active and can run around with the kids.

One day, I found Ben, Imogen, now 10, and Jacob, 6, all standing inside a pair of Ben’s old 54in-waist trousers.

Incredible!

I may not have traded in my hubby but we’ve both traded in our old lives.

Now, as we head towards our 40s, we no longer feel fat.

Just fabulous!

We don’t just look different, we feel different!