How I lost FIVE STONE

Hayley Adams proves that if you want to lose weight, determination and hard work really do pay off

- CLARE SWATMAN

BEFORE 15ST 7LB

It was the photo from my holiday in Australia in 2020 that did it for me. There I was, standing next to my 23-year-old niece – and she was half my size. I was enormous and my huge arms and neck left me cringing with shame. That’s when I knew I had to do something about my weight.

It had been a long time coming. I’d always been on the big side. Growing up, I enjoyed tucking into home-cooked meals and puddings every night made by my gran – jam roly-poly, rice pudding, crumble – they were all delicious and I often had seconds.

Bad habits

Luckily I was quite an active child, always out on my bike or walking to school. But when I left school at 16 and started working in telecoms, I bought myself a moped and gradually I became a lot less active. A size 14, I was happy though, and my weight never really bothered me.

Then, when I was 17, I was diagnosed with juvenile type 1 diabetes. To begin with, as I learnt to cope with the insulin injections, I cut back on how much sugar I was eating. But as I began to manage my diabetes better, my diet soon returned to normal.

Over the next few years my eating habits got worse – cakes and puddings were my weakness.

In 1997 I had my son, Kieran, but being a single parent wasn’t easy. With all of my time and energy spent on being the best mum that I could be, looking after my own health fell by the wayside. For quickness and ease, when Kieran was asleep, I’d make myself a microwave meal for one.