Deeside mum lost nearly eight stone in weight to 'save her life'

When Emily Hill, from Shotton, joined her local Slimming World group in January 2015, her size 24 frame tipped the scales at over 18 stone.

Emily, 37, said: ''I was so depressed and unhealthy, I knew I needed to act fast, I’d even considered weight loss surgery."

Getting out of breath even walking upstairs, Emily would avoid going on the school run as much as possible and make up excuses to have friends help her out.

She added: "I was so ashamed of my size and even walking the 10 minutes to school would make me feel so breathless and I would need to nap when I got home, I barely had the energy to be the mum that my girls deserved."

Isolating herself further, Emily became seriously depressed, making both her physical and mental health a great concern to her family and friends.

"I remember feeling so unworthy, I wanted to die. I was so desperate to escape from the shell of the person I had become but the thought of leaving my daughters without a mum kept me going. It was then that I made the decision to join my local Slimming World group in the New Year to see if losing weight would help me to be ‘me’ again.

"I was absolutely terrified the day that I joined group but I needn’t have worried, I was welcomed with open arms and made to feel at ease right away. It was a wonderful thing to feel safe and warm as I’d barely left the house in months.''

Within four weeks, Emily had lost her first stone and by the end of 2015 she had lost nearly seven stone.

She said: "It was almost beyond belief that I had started the year a size 24 and ended it a size 12, my confidence was growing, I was smiling more and I had bags of energy. From swapping the takeaway to making my own healthy versions, not only was I losing weight, I was educating my family on how to eat smart. Knowing that I was instilling a healthier lifestyle for my girls, I finally felt like I was being the mum that they deserved."

By June 2016, Emily became a target member after losing nearly eight stone and fitting into size 10 clothes.

Emily said: "I honestly didn’t think I’d achieve my weight loss dream, but with the support from my consultant Justine, friends at group and the people around me, I did it and I’ve kept the weight off too.''

To celebrate her two years at target, Emily achieved something else she also didn’t believe possible a few years back and took part in her first race, running 10K in 56 minutes.

The success of Emily’s weight loss has also helped her to land her dream job of helping others to achieve their own weight loss dreams and will be re-launching the Slimming World group held on Tuesdays from September 4 at Flint Town Hall at 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.

'‘I want to help others realise that losing weight is possible, that it’s fun and it can totally transform your life. Being a consultant for Slimming World is something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time and I can’t wait to see people blossom into the happiest and best versions of themselves.’'