A size 28 mum who could not fit through the turnstile at football matches as a teen says she has lost more than 11 stone so she could be there for her son.
Amy Woolliscroft, now a size 10, had always struggled with her size and was 15 stone at 15 following her parents' divorce.
The 34-year-old, who hated seeing her reflection, turned to comfort eating following her own relationship breakdown but was shocked into taking action by her festive photos from Christmas 2017.
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With the support of her best friend, Lucy, 30, who is a size 8, she joined a diet club online, started hula hooping and watched her waistline shrink until she felt like she had a 'brand new identity.'
Amy, who lives in Hatton, Derbyshire, with her six-year-old son, Noah, said: “I wanted to make sure I was here for my son and that I was fit enough to run around with him.
"That was why I decided to do something about my weight.
“I always knew one day I would lose it. I just never knew when.”
In January 2018, Amy weighed 21st 11lb and at 5ft 6in, her body mass index (BMI), used to gauge a healthy weight, was 49 - compared to the NHS healthy range of 18.5 to 24.9 – making her 'dangerously obese.'
Now, she wears a size 10-12, weighing 10st 5lb, with a healthy BMI of 23.5.
She said: “My real friends will tell me, ‘you were beautiful then and you are beautiful now.’
“Some people have said, ‘I always knew there was a beautiful face in there.’
“But I’ve not done this for anyone else, I’ve done it for me.”
Amy says she was branded as 'the big girl' at school, and when her friends all had boyfriends, she didn't.
She hated PE and having to get changed in front of other people.
“Throughout my life, when I’ve looked in the mirror, I’ve hated what I saw, as I just didn’t love myself," she added.
Remembering how she and her brother were fussy eaters and refused to eat vegetables as children, Amy also realises now that her parents splitting up when she was nine fuelled her already unhealthy relationship with food.
“My brother and I just ate crisps, potatoes, bread and sweets," Amy explained.
“After my parents split up, we lived with my dad and I remember stepping onto the scales in the bathroom for the first time when I was 15 and being horrified because I weighed 15st.
“It really hit home, because I knew my dad weighed 18st, so not that much more than me.”
After leaving school, Amy trained in childcare at college and landed a job at a local nursery, where she worked for 11 years.
Then, seven years ago, she moved to the nursery where she still works now.
"I am very determined," she added.
“Once I have made my mind up to do something, then I don’t lose that focus.”
When she split up with Noah's dad in May 2017, she spent the following months comfort eating. But soon called on her gutsy determination to tackle her weight problem once and for all.
She said: “I’ve always had a big appetite, so I’m not sure whether it was comfort eating or just the fact I didn’t care much about my weight after Noah’s dad left.”
But after being confronted with photos of herself at her 2017 Christmas celebrations, she was shocked into slimming with gusto.
Confiding in her friend Lucy, a clothing and shoe shop assistant manager, she said: “We’ve been best friends since we were 10 and although we were chalk and cheese physically, we really love each other, so I knew she would support me.”
As the pair hatched the perfect weight loss plan, she recalled her horror as a teenager when she went to a Derby County match with her dad and was too big to even squeeze through the turnstile sideways on.
She said: “Someone saw me struggling and called out that they’d open the gates which was so embarrassing, because I was just too big to get through the turnstiles.
“Everyone around us saw and heard it.”
Too shy to go in person to a slimming club, instead she joined WW online and was soon off to a roaring start.
And Lucy encouraged her by joining in with the hour-long YouTube dance exercise videos.
Amy said: “We both love dancing and when we go out, that’s what we do … we dance, so it was the perfect exercise plan for me to start with.”
Every week, the mum-of-one, who restricts her calorie intake to 1,400 a day, weighs herself on a Sunday, which is also her ‘treat’ day.
Preferring savoury to sweet things, she will forgo all snacks if her weight has gone up, so she can get back on track.
She said: “I know people are surprised by my determination, because they’ve seen there’s nothing I won’t say no to if it means keeping my weight healthy.
“As a result, I’ve only gained weight about five times since losing it and I’ve always managed to lose it again.”
She added: “A pizza is my all-time favourite food, but I will say no if I need to.
“Another thing that happens when you lose this much weight is your digestion changes, so you then have to be careful about what you eat.”
Luckily, exercising alongside her weight loss has also helped Amy to reduce the “apron effect” experienced by many people, who have had drastic weight loss and end up with large folds of loose skin.
She believes using a weighted hula hoop was key to toning up as the pounds fell away.
At first, she ended up with bruises to her hips and thighs when she used it but is now an expert and can keep the hoop circling around her waist for an hour at a time.
She said: “I’ve lost 22.5ins from my hips and 20.5 ins from my waist – which now measure 37.5in and 27.5in – thanks to working out with the hoop.
“When I started this, I couldn’t even run for a bus. Now, I run three times a week on my treadmill at home which is the equivalent of 15-20 miles each week.
“And I’m hoping to do a 10k run for charity.”
Not only has her weight loss made her feel physically better, Amy says that psychologically, she feels far more positive.
“I can go into any clothes shop and wear anything I want now and when I look in the mirror, I like what I see,” she said.
“I’ve learned to love myself and although it sometimes still doesn’t feel real, I know that I’ve achieved this.
“People tell me I am an inspiration and that makes me so happy I want to cry.”
She added: “But even better, I can now race Noah across the field and run around with him in the park.”
Amy’s main advice to her 2,700 WW Community followers and people who follow her on Instagram at ww_18_21 is to never give up on their own weight loss goals.
She said: “If you have a bad day or a bad week or a bad month, just move on and start again.”
The mum-of-one added: “I’ve had a motto for some time now which is, ‘I can and will. Watch me.’
“This, basically, says to anyone that ever doubted what I was capable of, that actually it is and was possible.”
As for Amy’s son, Noah, he just has one question for his mum.
She said: “He asks me, ‘Where’s your tummy gone?’”
To live your fullest life with no restrictions and no deprivation while still losing weight, sign up to WW’s newest programme, PersonalPoints, where no two plans are alike. To find out more, visit ww.com/uk
