Who’s your new wife?
I lost so much weight my hubby’s mate thought he’d remarried!
Ilove you the way you are...’
If I’d heard it once, I’d heard it a hundred times. A million even! My poor hubby Paul had told me so many times that my weight didn’t matter.
But that still didn’t stop me moaning about my size.
When we’d met, I was just 15, but I already weighed 16st and was a size-18.
Within two years, we’d had our son, Ryan.
I put on at least 2st during the pregnancy and didn’t manage to lose it afterwards.
Paul and I married in April 1996 and, afterwards, we had Dylan and Reece, and I piled on yet more weight.
Soon, I was much larger than I ever thought I’d be.
A whopping 19st 12lb and a size-24.
And I felt every pound of it!
It was beginning to take over my life...
I refused to eat in public because I knew that people would be thinking that I didn’t even need to be eating.
And I got out of breath just walking a few steps.
Once when the boys wanted to go swimming, I got bored of telling them no because of my own insecurities…
So I hired out the whole swimming pool so that no-one else would see me wobbling about in my swimsuit!
I tried to lose weight and sometimes lost a bit, but always put most of it back on again. Paul was so supportive.
I knew that he was being honest when he told me that I was beautiful.
But one day he came home from his job in a food factory looking really upset. ‘What’s up?’ I asked, worried. ‘Some of the lads weren’t being very kind,’ he replied.
Turns out that they’d made jokes about my appetite...
‘Don’t let them get to you,’ I said, putting on a brave face for my lovely hubby.
But, of course, I was mortified.
My weight was stopping me being an active mum and now embarrassing my husband.
So I finally came to a decision.
‘That’s it, I’m going to join Weight Watchers,’ I told Paul.
‘If that’s what you want to do, then I’ll support you all the way,’ he told me.
I’d been there before and lost 4st, but piled it all back on.
This time, though, I felt so much more determined. After all, I owed it to myself and my family to change.
I started following the Weight Watchers No Count option, which basically meant that I could
This time, I was determined. I owed it to my family
eat as much fruit, veg and wholemeal pasta and bread as I liked, and was allowed extra daily points for ther things. The first week, I lost 3lb – and each week following that, I seemed to lose about the same amount. It didn’t feel like much, but gradually friends and family started to notice. ‘Have you lost weight?’ they’d ask me. My clothes were getting baggier, too, plus I had so much more energy. I started taking the dog for longer walks and I got a treadmill. At first, I could just about manage 20 minutes walking but, gradually, I could do 30 minutes and then I was walking faster. Eventually I was jogging for an hour! I made healthy meals from scratch for the whole family, so Paul started to lose weight, too. Although it was tough at times, I stuck at it. Paul was definitely my biggest cheerleader. But then he always had been. Two years on, I was over the moon when I reached my target of 11st 3lb. Soon after, Paul and I were in the supermarket and saw one of his friends. ‘I didn’t realise that you had a new wife,’ he said, going to introduce himself. Paul smiled. ‘No, not new, she’s just been refurbished!’ he proudly explained to his mate.
Then it hit me… Paul’s mate had actually thought I was a different person because of the weight I’d lost!
We had a little laugh about it.
‘Well, I do feel like a new woman!’ I joked.
When my 40th birthday arrived in December last year, we were away on holiday in Iceland.
I confidently pulled on my new swimsuit, got in the thermal spa and soaked in it in front of total strangers!
Something I’d never have done in a million years before. I’ve managed to maintain my weight loss and I’m now wearing size-10/12 clothes.
My whole life has been transformed.
I work in a school and I’m a member of a gym.
I love it so much that I’m doing about six exercise classes a week! Paul and I love taking the dog for long walks or going cycling together. We’ve never been happier. My hubby loved his ‘first wife’. But he’s having a lot of fun with his second!
Just like he always says, he loves me the way I am!
My whole life has been transformed – I love it!