We lost 10st in lockdown

After a health crisis and a bereavement, Samantha Ockelford, 45, and her husband knew it was time to change

- BESS BROWNING

Like everyone else back in November 2019, I had no idea what 2020 had in store, or how important our health was, which is why, one evening like many before, my husband, Stuart, then 44, and I were nestled on the sofa, our plates piled high with takeaway curry. ‘Pass me another onion bhaji,’ I asked Stuart, making room next to a mountain of rice.

At the dining table, my daughters Bethany, then 21, Holly, 20, and Megan, 18, were eating vegetables and pasta and I felt ashamed. I knew, deep down, that I should have been eating healthily like they were. Only, as always, I pushed those feelings aside. ‘Diet starts tomorrow,’ I told myself, scoffing every morsel.

Growing up, my parents fed me healthy dinners, but I’d squirrel away biscuits each night and I’d gorge on crisps and chocolate. As a result, I was chunkier than my peers.

Throughout my teens and early 20s, my weight fluctuated with every crash diet I tried. When Bethany was born in July 1998, followed by Holly a year later and Megan in August 2001, the weight piled on. At my biggest, I was 5ft 4in, 15st and a size 18, I could barely walk up the stairs without heaving for breath.

I met Stuart in November 2013. With two marriages behind me, I wasn’t looking for love – my daughters were all that mattered. But during a rare night out with friends, Stuart offered to buy us a drink. ‘Sorry, we’re not interested,’ I told him. Buthis charm won us over and we allowed him to buy us a round. Chatting away, I realised we were quite similar and was thrilled when he asked me out. Within a year, we were living together and my girls saw Stuart as a father figure.