WORSE THAN CHILDBIRTH... BUT I GOT INTO MY WEDDING DRESS

KIRSTY CAIRNS, 33, works for the NHS and lives in Askam-inFurness, Cumbria with husband Mike, 31, a project manager, and their daughter Isla, two I BOUGHT a size 12 wedding dress not long after giving birth and with a year to go until the big day.

I was a size 16 and thought I’d be able to lose weight. But as the date in May this year drew closer I hadn’t lost any.

So after finding an advert online looking for brides-to-be to lose weight on TV I applied.

I didn’t really know what I had signed up to but that was probably for the best.

In March I arrived for my week at the retreat. It was full-on from the very start.

First up each day was an eight-mile walk then a sliver of apple. Next came a Pilates class then another form of keep-fit. Lunch was raw vegetables on a plate or light broth. It was awful. More exercise followed, with fruit to keep you going. When you felt weary you were told to do laps of the perimeter.

By day two I felt like I was going to die – it was worse than childbirth. I was starving, exhausted, cried a lot and was ready to give up.

But after day three I had an energy burst. I noticed in my face that I had lost weight and towards the end of the week I actually began to feel great.

Galia was like a mum crossed with a school teacher. She did frighten me but that’s how she gets results. When I stood on the scales at the end of the week I was stunned. It exceeded my expectations.

They gave me a nutritional plan so I could continue to lose weight and my experience has changed our family’s eating habits. Isla sees us eating vegetables now.

When I walked down the aisle in my dress I felt amazing. Everything came together and it was perfect.