Obese woman shedd five dress sizes for her wedding day

A size 22 woman who was sometimes mistaken for being pregnant and wore an adult sizes as a child, ended her lifelong battle with obesity by shedding five dress sizes in time for her wedding day.

Lucy Stewart, 25, of Edinburgh, who ballooned to 17st 5lbs by the age of 20, on a diet of calorie-laden sandwiches and takeaways was determined to slim down before her nuptials to fiance Jason Bryant, 29.

But after joining a slimming club Lucy has shed five stone and dropped as many dress sizes in preparation for her big day.

Lucy on her hen weekend, looking slim in size 12 clothes

Bride-to-be Lucy Stewart has dropped five dress sizes and five stone in time for her wedding day. Pictured: Lucy before (left) and now (right)

She explained: ‘I am 5ft 5ins and now weigh 11st 3lb.

‘When I walk down the aisle in February 2018, I will be wearing a slinky, size 12 wedding gown.

‘When I was really big, people even thought I was pregnant and asked me when I was due. It was so embarrassing.

Lucy will marry Jason Bryant, 29 (left) in a slinky size 12 wedding gown after dropping down to 11st 5lbs 

Lucy will marry Jason Bryant, 29 (left) in a slinky size 12 wedding gown after dropping down to 11st 5lbs 

Lucy pictured before she lost weight

At her largest, a size 22, people would ask if she was pregnant

Lucy (pictured before she lost weight, left and right) says that at her largest, a size 22, people would ask if she was pregnant

‘After losing this weight, I feel amazing, and cannot wait to become Mrs Bryant.’

Admitting she has always been larger, Lucy remembers being embarrassed when she went clothes shopping with her step-mum Vicki, 48, when she was 10.

‘I remember going shopping with Vicki and I couldn’t even fit into the children’s clothes,’ she explained. ‘I realised I wasn’t like the other normal children then.

‘I’d be in small adult sizes, but it wasn’t great. Looking back, weight had always been a big problem for me.

Lucy says she has struggled to maintain a healthy weight all her life, and when she was 10, she wore adult-sized clothes (pictured aged 10)

Lucy says she has struggled to maintain a healthy weight all her life, and when she was 10, she wore adult-sized clothes (pictured aged 10)

Lucy after she lost the weight in a slinky size 12 dress

She is now a size 12 after shedding five dress sizes

Lucy after she lost the weight, left and right. She is now a size 12 after shedding five dress sizes

‘I always remember over-eating. There wasn’t a trigger for me, but I would always finish my meals and have puddings too.’

As she approached adulthood, Lucy refused to let her weight hold her back and, happy and sociable, she always had plenty of friends and, with her bubbly personality, still attracted plenty of male attention.

But, her weight did start to take its toll on her health.

‘I had no problem meeting guys’, she said. ‘As a support worker for carers, though, I am on my feet all day, going into people’s homes and my back and feet became really painful, because of my weight.

‘My size 20 uniform became really tight and I even started worrying that I might not be able to fit into tight spaces when I was working. ‘

At her biggest, Lucy would skip breakfast, eating a crisp sandwich for a mid-morning snack, before wolfing down a calorie-laden shop-bought sandwich for lunch, chocolate and biscuits in the afternoon and then a takeaway for dinner.

But in September 2012, she realised something needed to change- spurred on by meeting Jason, who she has been with for six years, after he messaged her out of the blue on Facebook as they had mutual friends.

She continued: ‘My mother when I was little – kept saying, I needed to lose weight.

‘I’d met Jason and I knew he loved me how I was, but I felt bigger than him. He was slimmer than me, and I didn’t want us to look like Little and Large.

Lucy (pictured with her fiancé Jason) became motivated to lose weight after realising she was bigger than him. She said she didn't want the pair to be 'Little and Large'

Lucy (pictured with her fiancé Jason) became motivated to lose weight after realising she was bigger than him. She said she didn’t want the pair to be ‘Little and Large’

Lucy and Jason in October this year after she lost the weight

Lucy and Jason in October this year after she lost the weight

‘I’d rather he was the bigger one. I wanted to feel looked after by him, not feel like the big lump in the corner.’

Although he hadn’t yet popped the question, Lucy also started thinking about her future with the man of her dreams.

‘We discussed starting a family, and it filled me with dread to think people might not realise I was pregnant, because of my weight,’ she said.

‘I wanted to enjoy having a bump, not for people to not even realise I was pregnant.’

Joining Scottish Slimmers, Lucy started eating porridge for breakfast, a salad for lunch and homecooked meals for dinner.

And, after Jason proposed in October 2015, at luxurious spa hotel Cameron House, Loch Lomond, western Scotland, her wedding plans included wearing a glamorous size 12 lacy, ivory wedding dress on her big day.

Lucy, who now does regular spin classes and has also charted her weight loss on Instagram, said: ‘I feel absolutely amazing. We’re getting married in February next year in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, and I plan to look a million dollars.

‘My friends have always been a massive support, but even they say now, looking back at old photos of me, they can’t believe I got so big,’ she said.

‘After we get married I can’t wait to become a mum and to really enjoy being pregnant, not just feeling like a lump.’ 



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