A LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELF

Natasha Stewart, 28, is incredibly proud of how far she has come

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Dear Natasha,

What would you have said if you'd seen me in the high street the other day, swinging bags full of new, size-10 clothes?

I don't think you'd have recognised the future you. Shopping had always been your idea of hell. Your friends would slip into figure-hugging dresses and cute tops, while you were stuck in size-24 cover-ups and black leggings you bought online. Trying to help, a friend once picked a dress off a rail and handed it to you, saying, 'This will definitely fit!' You felt even worse when you pulled it on in the changing room, only to find the zips wouldn't fasten.

You may have kept up a cheerful front, pretending you enjoyed hitting the sales as much as they did, but underneath you felt left out and miserable. You were conscious of always being the biggest in the room and the school bullies certainly never let you forget. With your leavers' prom coming up, you joined Slimming World and lost 3½st – but you stopped going after that and the weight soon went back on. A temporary job at a fried-chicken shop didn't help, nor did working as a hospital clerk by day and studying for a degree by night. You found yourself permanently at a desk, grazing on chocolate and shop-bought sandwiches, and you'd heat up a frozen pizza and garlic bread as a quick dinner while you studied.

PUTTING ON A FRONT