I hated my body & couldn’t even face wedding photos.. but I’ve lost 6st 5lbs & changed my life
It should have been the happiest day of her life but Hayley Cook was so upset about how she looked in her wedding dress, she couldn’t face posing for a photographer.
After suffering two miscarriages in two years, Hayley had turned to comfort eating and the weight piled on.
By the time it came to her wedding day to Andy in July 2016, she weighed 16st 5½lb and couldn’t bear the idea of being in front of the camera – so there are few pictures of them together.
Now mum to two children,
5ft 8in Hayley has shed
6st 5½lb to be crowned Slimming World’s Miss
Slinky 2019.
“We’d tried so hard to have a family and I wanted to make the most of every moment without worrying about my weight,” says Hayley, of Didcot, Oxon.
“I feel like such a different person I’d love to renew our wedding vows and get photos I can look back on with happiness.
“I finally feel like the person
I was always supposed to be, and that’s an amazing feeling.”
When Hayley, 30, became pregnant, the pair were over the moon. But she had two miscarriages and was in such a low place that junk food became her rock and her dress size went up to 18.
After getting engaged, Hayley, who works for a learning disabilities charity, found out she was pregnant again but decided not to postpone the wedding.
“We were just so happy to be expecting again,” she says. In May 2016, Hayley and Andy, 33, welcomed Kaycie, now two, marrying months later. “I enjoyed my wedding but I hate the few pictures I have,” Hayley says. “I felt so uncomfortable with my body. I couldn’t face the thought of posing for professional photos. “With a baby and lovely husband I should have felt on top of the world but my weight was a big insecurity.” It wasn’t until the following year that she finally got her wake-up call. She found out she was expecting and once again suffered from severe gestational diabetes. After baby Archie was born in March 2018, Hayley was told there was a risk of her developing Type 2 diabetes, but the chances would be reduced by healthy eating and exercise. “I knew I had to start looking after myself,” she says. “My weight was beginning to impact on my life and that wasn’t the type of mum I wanted to be. It was getting to the stage where I didn’t want to go swimming as I felt so self-conscious.” Hayley, who now weighs 10st and is a size 10, joined Didcot Slimming World group and the weight dropped off.
“The brilliant thing about Slimming World was the eating plan focused on healthy, filling, everyday foods the family can enjoy – like healthy pizza – so I never feel like I’m missing out, and the support is second-to-none. I feel full of life and can’t wait to make more fun memories with my family.” Hayley in 2015