As I reminisced over photos from my dream honeymoon in Thailand, an unforgettable experience of washing elephants in the river should have brought me immense joy. However, instead of cherishing the memory, I found myself fixated on my appearance, feeling disheartened by how I looked in those moments.

Rather than reliving the thrill of the adventure, I was consumed by thoughts of my own body image, thinking, “My legs look larger than the elephant’s,” which brought me to the brink of tears. While my family gathered around, admiring the photos with excitement, I was overwhelmed with embarrassment, ashamed of how much weight I had gained.

Since meeting my husband, Charlie, I had gained two and a half stone, bringing my weight up to 17 stone and increasing my dress size to 18. Our relationship began in 2018 when we met at work, and we both delighted in dining out and sharing meals together.

We got engaged in October 2019, and then the Covid pandemic hit. Trapped at home, like many others, I turned to food for comfort, and my weight escalated as we slipped into unhealthy habits. We indulged in family-sized bags of chocolates, each consuming a whole one, and regularly finished two-person packs of pasta by ourselves. On top of that, we were both trying to sell our individual flats, facing stress as potential buyers backed out. We found ourselves in a less-than-ideal rental situation, adding to my stress and triggering daily bouts of comfort eating. I kept reassuring myself that once we had a stable home, I would regain control over my weight.

When we first met in 2018 through work, I was very happy, and we both enjoyed eating out and sharing meals.

We got engaged in October 2019, then Covid struck. We were stuck at home and, like many people, food was a comfort and my weight spiralled because we’d fallen into bad habits like buying family-size bags of chocolate and having one each, or eating a two-person pack of pasta each. We were also trying to sell our separate flats, and we were under a lot of stress as buyers fell through. We ended up in a really miserable rental and I was so stressed about the property situation that I was comfort-eating daily. I kept telling myself that, once we had a house, I’d regain control.

Charlie is so lucky – he ate the same as I did, but he’s 6ft 6in and naturally thin.

But having to get my wedding dress refitted wasn’t enough to motivate me to get into shape.

Kirsty Wright weighed 17 stone and was a size 18 when she went on her honeymoon to Thailand

Kirsty and Charlie on their wedding day. Having to get her wedding dress refitted wasn’t enough to motivate her to get into shape, she writes

When I went back to the final fitting for my beautiful gown, I was thrilled – imagining how I’d look floating down the aisle in the sparkling skirt. But the staff had to let the dress out at the sides and insert a section of lace in order for me to actually squeeze into it. I felt both embarrassed and sad that I wasn’t going to look the way I’d imagined.

I couldn’t sit down in my own wedding dress – I was too afraid it would rip. In truth, I’d put on almost a stone in just five months since I’d chosen the dress.

When I left the shop, I burst into tears. That afternoon, I had a gym session booked in. I cried on my trainer’s shoulder and she suggested a boxing session to get the frustrations out. I felt much better afterwards – and went straight to Sainsbury’s for chocolate to reward myself.

We had a wonderful wedding day, but I was self-conscious about the photos. I was still fairly fit thanks to lifting weights in the gym, but far bigger than I’d imagined being.

By our honeymoon, I’d developed a niggling pain in my knee and a bad back. Even carrying milk back from the shop was agony, and I was beginning to say no to trips and get-togethers because I knew I couldn’t walk far. Even then, I’d be having a big bowl of pasta followed by a family pack of Maltesers for dinner.

But even this wasn’t the wake-up call I needed.

It was only after seeing the honeymoon pictures that I realised I finally needed to take control of my eating habits.

‘I can’t feel like this again,’ I told Charlie. My sister was about to give birth to my gorgeous niece, now three, and I wanted to be a happy, healthy role model for her.

I had long struggled with fluctuating weight. My dad was in the Navy, so we moved around constantly. I went to seven different primary schools and, at every single one, I was bullied for being big. Looking back, I was only slightly larger than average, but I was always the new girl. As a result, I was a solitary child – my sister is still my best friend. I cheered myself up with sweet treats and, when I had my tonsils out, I remember the pain of eating ‘proper’ meals – I’d beg my mum for chicken nuggets and ‘easy’ foods.

By my 20s, I was working in a big clothes store in Bournemouth, living alone. I’d never enjoyed cooking – often I’d come home from work and have cheese and crackers or a bowl of cereal for dinner. I was snacking between meals and, by 29, to my shock, I was 14-and-a-half stone and a size 16. 

That was when I went to Slimming World for the first time, following a recommendation from a colleague. I stuck to the weekly weigh-ins and, within ten months, I’d lost five stone and dropped down to a size 10. I’m quite competitive and it gave me a buzz to see the weight dropping off – but because I lost it so fast, I didn’t really build long-term healthy habits.

That year, I was promoted and spent two months in Italy, working on new store openings and eating delicious tortellini in creamy sauces. When I returned, I moved to the Portsmouth store, but I was commuting from Poole so the days were long, and I couldn’t make it to the evening Slimming World group in time. I was slipping back into bad habits and that’s when the weight slowly started piling back on.

Over five years I went back up to a size 18.

So I was really scared to go back to Slimming World after getting the wake-up call I finally needed by seeing my honeymoon pictures – I didn’t want to know quite how heavy I was. I hadn’t weighed myself for at least a year, and I knew I’d need to be weighed at the meeting if I went back.

But it had worked for me before, and I was determined to make it work for me again. When I finally built up the courage, I was horrified to discover I was 17 stone – the heaviest I’d ever been, and two-and-a-half stone heavier than I had been the first time I went.

I wasn’t daunted, though – I was more determined than ever, knowing this time I really wanted to change.

I found a group that could accommodate my hours and, this time, I was determined. Charlie usually cooks dinner, and he was so supportive – he loves me regardless, but he could see that following the Slimming World recipes was important to me, so now we meal-plan ahead. The joy of this method is you can have treats, you just allow for them – so if I know I’m having chocolate later, I’ll have a less calorific breakfast.

Planning helped me to feel in control of my diet again, and was a huge boost for my mental health. After a week, I’d lost more than half a stone – and the knee and back pain disappeared. We started to go for walks almost every day, and I’m attempting Couch to 5k on my treadmill – I can run for 20 minutes without stopping now.

Kirsty with her husband Charlie on their honeymoon. She says he ate the same as she did, but he’s 6ft 6in and naturally thin

Since returning to Slimming World, Kirsty has dropped down to nine-and-a-half stone and a size 10-12. She eats more than she did before, but focuses on healthy choices that fill her up

Kirsty and Charlie on holiday after she lost weight. They tend to do 30,000 steps a day on their trips now – but on their honeymoon she couldn’t have imagined being fit enough to do that

Last year, we went on holiday to Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. We were doing 30,000 steps a day. On my honeymoon, I couldn’t have imagined ever being fit enough.

At 39, I probably eat more than I did before now, but it’s vegetables, wholegrains – healthy choices that fill me up.

Nowadays I’ll have a healthy breakfast of fruit and yoghurt, a salad packed with protein for lunch, and a recipe from the Slimming World cookbook for dinner, such as curry or a healthy pizza pasta bake.

I didn’t want to try weight-loss injections, and was never tempted. I’d lost weight before with Slimming World so I knew I could do it again – the method really suits me and I love good food, so it means I can still enjoy eating.

I’m down to nine-and-a-half stone again, losing nearly eight stone in two years, and I’m back to a size 10-12. I am so proud of myself.

I recently got promoted at work as a retail manager. I wouldn’t have gone for the job if I had still been feeling unhappy about myself.

We still have our wedding photos up on the living room wall and I see them every day. I used to feel sad that I’d let myself gain so much weight – but now I look at them and recall a very happy day. Better still, I remember exactly how far I’ve come since.