Sweat poured off me as I tossed and turned in bed. It was July 2016, and at 20st 5lb, I was struggling to cope with an intense heat wave. Rolling out of bed the next morning, I felt dreadful. ‘I can’t do this any more,’ I sighed to my husband, Paul. At my heaviest weight, I’d had enough, and knew I needed to change.
Ever since I was a child, eating had been my comfort. While Mum dished up healthy meals at home, at my gran’s house at the weekends I’d scoff homemade cakes, biscuits and pies.
At 16, I left school to train to be a nurse. I loved the work, but the long hours and stressful shifts left me