Vicky ditched 14st to get married after photos left her in tears
SHE FEARED LOOKING LIKE ‘SHREK IN A DRESS’ ON HER WEDDING DAY
A DERBYSHIRE bride lost half her body weight because she didn’t want to walk down the aisle “looking like Shrek in a dress”.
Vicky Chaffer, from Chesterfield, was over the moon when boyfriend David proposed in New York’s Central Park during a 30th birthday trip.
But she was so self-conscious about her size 26 figure, she refused to allow her husband-to-be to take snaps to mark the happy occasion.
And she delayed setting a date because she was so upset by her 27 stone frame.
The couple finally tied the knot when Vicky, 35, a pensions administrator, had lost a massive 14st 8lb.
She said: “I knew deep down we weren’t setting a date because I was so self-conscious.
“I used to say to my friends, I don’t want to be looking like Shrek in a dress when I walk down the aisle.
“I still regret now that I was in that position where I didn’t have any engagement photographs.
“I just didn’t let David take any photographs of me showing my ring off because I didn’t like how I looked.
“I’d have married him the next day if I’d been comfortable and confident, but I just didn’t want to get married looking like that so I kept putting off making any plans.”
Two years after their engagement, holiday snaps from Newquay left her in floods of tears.
And she was further mortified when she got on the scales at home and the ‘error’ message flashed up because she was too heavy for them.
Vicky said: “We went on holiday in
May 2018 for my birthday and when I saw pictures of myself, I cried.
“I got on my scales at home and it said error – I didn’t realise that the maximum weight was 24 stone... I burst into tears.
“I thought if I don’t change now, I’ll not see the next five years out.”
She joined Alfreton-based Slimming World and ditched her regular takeaways for healthier, homecooked food and started exercising.
Vicky slimmed down to 12 stone 7lb, fitting into a size 12 dress for her big day in May this year.
And she was not the only one to shed weight. Her partner David, 36, lost 7st because of the new healthy home-made food his fiancée was cooking for him and her mum also lost six stone at Slimming World.
Vicky said: “I can’t even remember at what point I felt ready. My confidence just sky-rocketed as the weight came off and then I reached a magic number and said ‘let’s do it.’”
The wedding was due for June last year after she’d lost eight stone. But the pandemic put things on hold and by the time the new date in May came around, Vicky had lost a further six stone during lockdown.
She had to get her size 18 wedding dress altered to fit her new size 12 frame. Even her engagement ring had to be re-sized.
Vicky added: “The day was really special - definitely a day we’ll never forget.
“When I look back on our wedding pictures they literally make me smile. They really capture how happy we are, which is what I always wanted from my wedding pictures, but what I thought I’d never be able to get before my weight loss.
“I’d have felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed about how I looked so I wouldn’t have been able to relax and enjoy our day.
“And I’d never have bought my dream dress because I wouldn’t have dared buy anything so figurehugging
before because I wasn’t happy in my own skin at that time.
“I couldn’t even look at pictures of myself before my weight loss because I was so unhappy with myself, whereas I still spending evenings now looking through our wedding pictures and I can’t help but smile.”
Vicky said her weight gradually increased over the years after she’d slipped into a routine of convenience food and takeaways. She and David, an IT manager, would gorge on takeaways three nights a week and eat convenience foods rather than cooked meals from scratch.
Vicky added: “If David was working late, I’d just get a McDonald’s on the way home or something.
“We got together when we were 18 and 19 and David was at uni, so we would eat lots of takeaways and have cosy nights in.
“It sounds silly, but I didn’t realise how big I’d got, it’s like it just crept up on me when I saw myself on those photos.”
Determined to turn her life around, Vicky joined Slimming World and followed its guidance on cooking meals from scratch using healthier, low-fat ingredients.
In her first week at her local group,
in November 2018, she lost 8lb and the pounds continued to fall off at a steady rate of around two to three per week.
Vicky said: “My mum was already at Slimming World and I thought I’d bob along with her.
“I was really nervous but I thought I would give it a go. From the first day everyone was so lovely.
“And my mum really is my rock who keeps me on track, she has lost 6st herself and encouraged me to go down with her.
“I was so nervous at first and I would never have done it without her.”