#MagicMoments - The New Me!

Like most women, I seem to be always dieting. Up until my late teens I never had to watch what I was eating but I remember a family friend, watching me stuff a cream cake in my face, warning me that one day I wouldn't "get away" with eating like that. A bit harsh perhaps, but she was right - when I moved in with DH at 19 we settled comfortably into our new life, relaxed in our eating habits and both put on about 2 stone each, judging by the photos I have!

The first time I felt the need to lose weight was when we set a date for our wedding. Being organised, we had a year to plan, so, with the help of my best friend, we joined a local Weight Watchers group and went to a weekly aerobics class and swimming. With the motivation to look fabulous on my wedding days (and all those photos!), I managed to lose that 2 stone and was just over 9 stone when we got married.

Predictably though, the weight crept back on a little post-wedding (I put on half a stone on our honeymoon!), but it wasn't until I fell pregnant with DS1 six years later that the weight really piled on.

To be fair, it was my first pregnancy, I didn't get great advice from the NHS (I remember a midwife at the antenatal class telling us all to eat cake at regular intervals when baby was born to illustrate the importance of feeding ourselves as well as the baby - no, literally, she had a cardboard clock cut out and divided into sections, labelled at what time we should eat cake!?!)

I had no clue about healthy eating or portion control, and feeling absolutely starving all the time didn't help. I was 13 stone when I had DS1, and having DS2 and DS3 18 months apart left little time to focus on myself, let alone eat properly.

Wearing baggy tops
 to hide my belly

Having a 4 year gap between DS3 and DD meant that I finally had a bit of recovery time, and the year before I fell pregnant with DD I managed to get down to about 10 stone. For the first 6 months of this pregnancy I tried very hard to eat right and gained normal pregnancy weight, but I remember my belly getting so huge in the last trimester due to baby growth that there seemed little point in watching what I ate! By the time DD was born, I was back to 13 stone again and for the next 4 years my attention was solely on my baby and her brothers and my weight was not important.

Looking slimmer in Mexico

Once DD had started school, I had more time for me so I tried again to get back to a healthy BMI. I joined a local Slimming World group with a couple of mummy friends and lost 2 stone in two years (slow and steady!). Then I plateaued for a year before deciding I could go it alone and save myself the weekly fee. I had learnt a lot about cooking from scratch and eating well so I carried on with it and lost another stone slowly over the course of another year, but I was still about a stone over the weight I wanted to be. DH also wanted to lose about a stone before our once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Mexico so we began an exercise routine at home. We followed the Davina DVD's three times a week in the evening and it was really nice to share something different together. We had a fantastic holiday, both feeling fit and healthy, and on our return wanted to keep up the exercise.

Rather fortuously, we won a three month gym membership at the Christmas raffle last year and, as DH would have found it difficult to fit in with work, I took advantage of it and had a free workout designed for me after an assessment. The trainer focussed the exercises on the areas I most wanted to improve and I really enjoyed going (not to mention the jacuzzi and steam I did after every workout!)

When I got below 10 stone I was thrilled and when I settled around the 9st 7 mark I was finally where I wanted to be. However, my tummy was still a problem area and no amount of exercise was helping. After 4 pregnancies and a hereditary disposition towards stretch marks I was left with a substantial amount of excess skin both below and above my belly button. When I gathered up the loose skin I could see the figure I should have but the only way of getting rid of it was to have an operation.

In May I decided that I was ready to take the next step, found a good private hospital and booked myself in for an abdomioplasty operation!

This week, I can finally stop wearing the stomach binder and have been wondering what to wear for #BritMumsLive. Madmumof7 and her dil said they were going to wear maxi dresses and, browsing on the internet, I happened to spot a lovely maxi dress which looked great on the model. As I was ordering some school clothes for the kids anyway, thought I'd add it to the order as it would be free to return if it was no good.

I had ordered two sizes as you never know how the fit will be (I have a large chest so sometimes need the bigger size to accommodate!), but was truly amazed when the smaller size slipped on easily.

The dress is made from a stretchy material so very comfortable and figure-hugging, but for once this was not a problem!

Looking in the mirror, I finally saw the results I had been after from all the years of exercising, and dieting, and the operation had given me the stomach to go with my new figure - it was totally worth it and my #magicmoment!

Related articles

• Weight, BMI, Green Notes