Years of yo-yo dieting, a difficult pregnancy and a love of chocolate meant Victoria, from Guildford, became as heavy as her 6ft 2in husband – a wake-up call that spurred on her weight loss
WAIST 34in (86cm)
BMI 31.8
DRESS SIZE 16
WAIST 29in (73.5cm)
BMI 22.1
DRESS SIZE 10/12
HAVING STRUGGLED with my weight since I was 18, I became a yo-yo dieter in my 20s, forever losing weight only to put it all on again. It became a depressing cycle. I’d always had a sweet tooth and loved chocolate. I’d even eat biscuits for breakfast, then of course I’d be starving by mid-morning and snack on chocolate.
At work I’d often have back-to-back meetings, so on the way in I’d pick up a sandwich, a bag of crisps and some chocolate at a petrol station to have for lunch. I told myself I needed the calories for energy to get through my busy day. I did eat a crazy amount of chocolate then – I’d buy one of those big family-size bars and eat the whole lot myself.
I wasn’t in control of what I was eating. I went shopping without a list or planning my meals and picked up whatever I fancied eating (I particularly loved McDonald’s burgers). I was an emotional eater and treated myself to snacks if I’d had a bad day at work or was stressed out. I kidded myself I could get away with it as I was always on the go, but I was eating all the wrong types of food.
The diets weren’t working
For years I attended a slimming club on and off that promoted healthy eating, but it was quite restrictive and didn’t fit my lifestyle. I’d stick to it for a few months and then fall off the wagon a few times, give up and start putting on weight again. It became a pattern and although it wasn’t working I didn’t know how else to lose weight.
When I became pregnant two years ago I experienced severe morning sickness and could hardly eat or keep fluids down. To deal with the nausea, I’d nibble on biscuits and cakes, as so many other things made me feel sick. I lost track of how many calories I was consuming. At three months I developed severe pain in my thigh which was so intense my husband, Mehdi, called an ambulance. At the hospital, the doctor said it was muscle strain and sent me home. A few days later my leg began to swell and I went back, and this time I was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). To reduce the swelling and prevent clotting occurring throughout the pregnancy, the doctor prescribed bl
