MUMMY'S STUCK ON THE FLOOR!

Amy Smith, 37, had a real fight on her hands to shift the weight that was holding her back

- ASHLEIGH

Sitting on the floor, I watched adoringly as my son Theo, then two played with his toys. With my newborn daughter Leah fast asleep in her Moses basket, I relished spending time playing with him.

Only, as I tried to get up from the floor, I couldn't. At 5ft 5in and over 17th, my bulk was just too much for me to move easily.  Help!' I called to my husband Andrew, then 35. Striding over and seizing my hands, he hauled me to my feet and I breathlessly steadied myself and fell back on to the sofa. This is getting ridiculous," I sighed.

EXTREME PAIN

It was January 2018 and, at 32, I'd always been overweight. Even as a youngster, I'd been big and by the time I reached my 18th birthday, I was already a size 16. But my weight never really bothered me.

Then in 2011, it started to affect my health. While on holiday with Andrew, I suddenly doubled over in pain. Clutching my tummy, I didn't know what was happening. The episode soon passed but over the next year I suffered more random bouts of pain, and eventually, doctors confirmed that I had gallstones - small lumps of cholesterol that can form in the gallbladder, causing extreme pain when trapped.

By the end of the year, I'd had surgery to remove my gallbladder completely.

'You'll have to watch what you eat,' doctors said, explaining that without a gallbladder, my body would struggle to process any fats. But despite the warning, I carried on eating whatever I wanted.

When Andrew and I married in 2013, I was a size 20, and while I'd dieted a little as our wedding had drawn closer, I'd never taken it seriously.

Only when I struggled to conceive did I try to change my ways. Diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, linked to being overweight, I was told I'd struggle to get pregnant without surgery to remove the cysts. Yet I needed to lose 5st before doctors could operate.