A woman who felt “ashamed” after looking at her wedding and honeymoon photos due to putting on “too much” weight has revealed her unrecognisable transformation.
Growing up, Kirsty Wright was known as “roly poly” due to the frequent fluctuation in her size.
At her heaviest, she weighed 16st 13lbs.
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Despite trying various methods over the years, none of them worked, and the 39-year-old became stuck in a vicious cycle.
It wasn’t until doing the final fitting for her wedding dress that she realised something needed to change – and fast.
“I was so excited when I found my dress,” the store manager, from Wimborne, Dorset, told What’s The Jam.
“But when I went back for a fitting, it was too tight.
“I had put on too much weight and I was forced to let it out.
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“All the work done to take it in had to be undone.
“I hated myself.
“Because I was bullied in my childhood for being fat, I have a negative association with being bigger.
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“So I felt worthless and ugly.
“I was so unhappy that I started pulling the hair out from around my hairline.”
Kirsty had joined Slimming World in February 2016 and lost five stone.
She maintained the loss for a year before being promoted at work, which left her with little to no time to attend groups.
Quickly, she fell back into old habits.
She said: “I was putting on weight rapidly.
“I joined a gym in the hopes of working it off and I paid for an incredible personal trainer.
“But I would always go straight to the shops afterwards as I was really hungry.
“And bought all the bad food as a reward; so I ended up only gaining more.”
Kirsty found herself struggling with knee discomfort and “locking” of her back, which caused immense pain.
She would also run out of breath quickly and avoided social events, as well as having her picture taken due to the sheer embarrassment.
After looking at her wedding and honeymoon photos, taken in October 2021 and October 2023 respectively, the biggest emotion felt was shame.
Kirsty said: “I thought my wedding dress not fitting would’ve been the turning point.
“But clearly not.
“I just continued to get bigger and bigger.
“On our honeymoon in Thailand, I struggled a lot in the heat.
“It was such an amazing experience, including washing elephants in the river.
“But when I looked at the picture, I burst into tears.
“I felt so much guilt for not being the wife I thought my husband deserved.
“I came back from the holiday knowing I needed to do something about my weight.”
Kirsty used to skip breakfast, opting for a meal deal with extra snacks for lunch, including a cheese and onion sandwich, bottle of pop, crisps and a chocolate bar.
For dinner, it was pizza or tortellini, followed by a family-sized pack of chocolate, such as Maltesers.
Now, though, she begins her day with oats or Cheerios, then a jacket potato with salad, ending the day with hunter’s chicken or lasagne.
And, Kirsty doesn’t skimp out on the chocolate.
She now weighs 9st 9lbs – but how did she achieve this?
She said: “I was going to the gym a couple of times a week and doing a lot of weight training.
“But I just kept going to the corner shop and buying sweets afterwards again.
“So I quit and re-joined Slimming World.
“I was nervous about getting on the scale for the first time, as I was in denial about how big I had become.
“But I quickly felt a huge shift in my mental well-being.
“Life wasn’t something that was just happening anymore; it was something I was doing.
“My husband and I went for more walks and I’d run around the garden with friends’ kids.
“I also started Couch to 5k.”
Kirsty feels more confident than ever and recently took her first bikini snap while on holiday.
It’s helped her regain control and feel more open to new experiences.
She added: “I can’t remember the last time I felt knee or back pain.
“I’m also excited to try on and buy clothes.
“I think for anyone coming to the realisation that they need to do something about their weight is a huge achievement.
“I was in denial and self-sabotaging for so long.
“Everyone has a different idea of what will work for them, but I enjoy being able to eat food that is genuinely tasty.
“I wasted so many good years being miserable.
“If you’re looking to start losing weight, then start today – you deserve to feel good about yourself.”
