I'M A NEW WOMAN!

Self-conscious about her size, Cheryl Mercer, 53, even walked her dogs in the dark - until she made a decision

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Standing next to my son Rhys, then 23, as we posed for a photo, I’d never felt more proud. It was June 2021 and Rhys’ graduation from university. But while I felt so happy for Rhys and wanted to capture the memory of his big day, I hated being in front of the camera. I did my best to breathe in and position myself in a way that disguised the rolls around my stomach, but wearing a size-22 elasticated-waist skirt and a white blouse, I was conscious of how big I was. And when I looked back at the photos on my phone later, I was horrified.

‘I look even bigger than I feel,’ I said to my husband David, embarrassed. Fortunately, the pandemic meant there wasn’t the big official ceremony there would normally be, so we celebrated with a family barbecue instead. As I tucked into a burger to comfort myself, I felt so relieved that no one else had to see me looking so huge.

Of course, I knew I had to lose weight, but it was easier said than done. The truth was I couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t big. Aged 12, I weighed 12st. I was a stone heavier by the time I was 13, and my weight had gone up and up since then.

When I married David in 1991, I had managed to lose a bit of weight, so I was about 11st 7lb, but after having my daughter Courtenay in 1995 and Rhys in 1998, I just kept piling on more pounds.

I did manage to lose weight over the years by following different diets or just by cutting back myself, but I always put it back on again. And when I was diagnosed with a melanoma in December 2018, then needed surgery the following January, I couldn’t exercise and eating healthily fell by the wayside.