Meet Sunderland's super-slimmer, who shed four stone and now wants to help others 'feel amazing'

Emily, 43, suffers from fibromyelgia, hypermobilty and osteoarthritis which causes fatigue and results in her being in “constant joint pain”, a situation which makes traditional forms of exercise difficult.

However, it was following the birth of her daughter Mary-Isobell, nine, that Emily struggled to shed her excess weight which had ballooned to 16 stone four pounds.

She said: “My medical conditions worsened and coupled with being pregnant, I wasn’t able to exercise. I was in pain and struggled to get the weight off.

"It really started to affect my mental health and I didn’t feel good about myself. I’d wake up in pain and then look in my wardrobe and I’d see lots of clothes I could no longer fit into. Looking in the mirror I didn’t like myself and I would put on baggy clothes to cover-up.”

Emily’s “extremely low mood” created a vicious circle as she started to comfort eat.

She added: “Our family meals were generally healthy but between meals I was comfort eating on biscuits, cookies and family size bars of chocolate.”

However, it was a conversation amongst friends which proved to be the catalyst for Emily’s impressive weight loss.

She said: “Someone made an innocent remark asking if I was expecting again. I wasn’t and I was so upset that I went home and cried. I was absolutely mortified my weight meant someone thought this and that was the moment I decided I didn’t want to feel this bad again.”

In 2016 Emily decided to join the Cleadon branch of Slimming World and after two years she had reached her target weight of 11 stone four pounds.

Emily added: “I was able to get a healthy eating plan which was personalised and also factored in cooking for my family. The group is like a family and gave me the support I needed and I’ve made some amazing friends.”

After maintaining her weight loss Emily has now seen a “massive impact” on both her physical and mental wellbeing.

SEE ALSO: Sunderland mum lost four stone with help of Slimming World following tragic death of her sister to a heart attack

She said: “Slimming World has changed my life in every aspect. The pain in my knees has lessened and has helped me be able to walk without a stick most of the time and to delay knee replacements.

"I’ve joined a parent street dance group. We auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent and I even had the confidence to twerk in front of Simon Cowell. I’ve dropped from a size 22 to size 12 and it’s nice to be able to buy and get into the clothes I like.”

Following her weight loss success, Emily now works as a Slimming World consultant and runs branches in Roker, Pallion and Fulwell.

She said: “I just loved everything about Slimming World and I wanted to help other people who are at their lowest to feel amazing.”

Snacks for Emily now constitute yoghurt and fruit while a typical day will start with a poached egg and home made salsa for breakfast, jacket potato with salad for lunch and spaghetti bolognese for dinner.

Anyone who would like to attend Emily’s groups can contact her on 07730 605482.