Mum-of-two tells how she lost 11st in a year
Jane Bratton, 36, turned her life around thanks to an inspirational – albeit unusual – gift
As I looked out of the kitchen window, I saw my husband John playing football with our sons Bailey, then six, and Brody, two. It was summer 2014 and darting around the garden with the ball, they all looked like they were having so much fun. Spotting me, Bailey waved and, forcing a smile, I grinned back, but inside all I felt was jealousy. I was desperate to run after them and wrestle them to the floor with tickles, but the boys had only ever known me as the mum who watched from the sidelines.
For as long as I can remember my weight has been a battle. Crisps were my weakness and throughout my teens I weighed 16st and wore a size 18. I’d work hard to lose a few pounds only then to pile it all back on, plus a bit more.
It was in August 2003, when I’d just slimmed down from a size 18 to a size 14, that I met John in a nightclub. I could hardly believe it when he asked for my number. And, in the months that followed, happy in a new relationship, I let my strict diet slip. We treated ourselves to Chinese takeaways at the weekends, as well as kebabs, ordering cheeseburgers and chips.
It wasn’t long before I piled back on the weight that I’d lost and I crept back up to 24st and a size 22. John gained weight too, but his warehouse job was very physical, so he could work it off easily. ‘Look at me, I’m fat and ugly,’ I’d grumble, grabbing my belly. ‘No you’re not, I love you for you,’ John insisted.
He never had an issue with my weight, and said I should only lose it for me. But as John worked nights, I’d find myself sitting on the sofa alone, watching TV, and, bored, I’d raid the kitchen cupboards. A sharing-sized bar of chocolate, five bags of crisps, and a whole packet of chocolate digestives, I could do that easily in a few hours.
I lost count of the times John found me asleep on the sofa, empty wrappers and my mouth smeared with chocolate.
Of course I felt ashamed but I just tried to laugh it off. Only, when I undressed each night before bed and looked in the mirror, I couldn’t laugh off how awful I felt. With my belly bulging over the waistline of my knickers and rolls of fat spilling out under my bra strap, I felt hideous.
‘My belly bulged over my waistline’
Health battle
Too self-conscious to undress in front of John, I’d insist on turning the lights off. I’d cover up under baggy T-shirts and trousers, desperate to disguise just how big I was. Over the next few years I tried diet after diet, but I didn’t have the willpower, then in 2008, I fell pregnant.
‘I’m eating for two now,’ I told John, helping myself to second portions. I told myself I’d lose weight after the baby was born but when Bailey arrived in December 2008, I still found myself making excuses.
‘I don’t have time to cook healthily,’ I’d reason. Then in 2013, Brody was born and I made the same excuses yet again. By now I weighed 24st and size 24, it was playing havoc on my health. Just walking up the stairs at home left me gasping. And when I pushed Brody in his pushchair to the local shops, I was sweating profusely. My knees ached from carrying so much weight and my bulging thighs were sore with chaffing.
It wasn’t until the boys got a bit older that I started to worry about it more.
‘Come on Mummy!’ Bailey would call to me at the park. ‘I’ll just watch!’ I panted back.
While other parents could push their children on swings, I could only watch from the bench as my boys played. ‘I’m missing out,’ I sighed to John one evening after we’d put the boys to bed. ‘And the kids are too.’ I knew something had to change, so in February 2015, as I did the weekly food shop, instead of filling the trolley with frozen chips and pizza, I bought fresh fruit and vegetables. And as I passed the DVD aisle, I spotted Charlotte Crosby’s workout DVD. The reality TV star had lost a lot of weight and looked great for it. Her Three Minute Belly Blitz workout offered 12 highintensity routines lasting three minutes each that promised to burn unwelcome belly fat. Later that night, I mentioned it to John. ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll buy it for you for Valentine’s Day,’ he offered, seriously. Granted, an exercise DVD wasn’t the most romantic gift, but chocolates and bottles of wine were no good to me when I was on a mission to lose weight and I was too self-conscious to go to the gym, so this seemed the perfect solution.
Determined to change
As soon as I was given the DVD I couldn’t wait to get started. After dropping Bailey off at school, I pressed play on the DVD player, while Brody sat in the room with me, playing.
After the first three-minute routine, my cheeks were red and I was sweating already and another three minutes in, I was so out of breath I had to stop. But still, I was determined not to give up and I started doing the workout five or six times a week, each time, getting a bit further along into the workout before collapsing with exhaustion.
I was eating healthier meals too, ditching the takeaways and swapping them for salads and fresh meals such as chicken stir-fries made from scratch.
After two months, I finally made it through the whole DVD in one go, and I felt so proud of myself. After just a month, I’d lost 10lb, and could already feel my clothes getting looser.
‘When you reach your target I’ll get you a new wardrobe!’ John promised, and I certainly wasn’t going to turn down an offer like that, so I kept going. Giving up my favourite snacks was hard, but after the first few weeks it became surprisingly easy, as if I’d flipped a switch.
By Valentine’s Day 2016, I was like a completely different person, having lost an incredible 11st in just a year, and slipping into a size 10/12. Keeping his promise, John took me shopping and for the first time ever I found myself buying fitted dresses and blouses – something that I never thought I’d be able to wear. But more importantly, losing weight meant I could do more with the boys. I love taking Bailey, now nine, and Brody, five, swimming and cycling. But I don’t even take the small things – like being able to pick them up for a cuddle – for granted.
At just under 11st, I might be half the woman I used to be, but now, thanks to that DVD, I’m twice the mum too.
‘I was too self-conscious to go to the gym’