I SAVED MY SON'S LIFE...AND THEN MY OWN!

It took a life-saving op for Johanna Battram, 54, to realise she needed to make drastic changes

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Cutting off another chunk of Cheddar cheese from the packet, I dropped it into my mouth, barely chewing before swallowing it and cutting off another piece. Before I knew it, I'd scoffed the whole 500g block, but I wasn't worried. I ate whole blocks of cheese daily, it was my Achilles heel, and probably one of the reasons for my size. At 5ft 7in and 16st 11lb, I wore a dress size 20. I knew I was big, but I just did what I'd been doing for years - convincing myself that I'd get round to losing weight one day when I wasn't quite so busy.

I hadn't always been big. When I married my husband Mark in 1989, I was 9st 7lb and a svelte size 10. I'd never had to watch what I ate and, naively, I thought I'd always be that lucky.

But by the time our daughter Millie was born in 1991, I'd gained 4st from the pregnancy and never lost it. I fell pregnant again and after our son Olly was born in 1993, I'd gained another few stone.

I hardly recognised myself, but being a new mum, I convinced myself that the weight would soon fall off. 'Running around after the kids all day surely counts as exercise, I'd reason to Mark. But I never factored in my diet. I started snacking on chocolate, cheese and crisps throughout the day and my weight just crept up even more.

As the kids got older, I'd cook healthy meals for them and Mark, such as meat and vegetables, but, being vegetarian, I would make separate meals for myself – my favourite being mashed potato with lashings of butter.