Before I joined Slimming World I was obese, unhealthy and unhappy. I barely left the house because I was too scared of bumping into someone and being judged about ‘letting myself go’ since I’d had children.

When I fell pregnant with my first child, Noah, I started eating for two and I developed diet-related gestational diabetes. I never really lost the baby weight after he was born. Then, nine months later, I fell pregnant with Jude and developed gestational diabetes again, this time much worse. He was induced three weeks early and was taken straight into special care because of his blood sugar levels and premature lungs. I blamed myself for putting my babies at risk.

The final straw came when I saw photos from my sister’s baby shower. She was nine months pregnant and I was so much bigger than she was. I was mortified. Plus, I knew that I was in serious danger of developing diabetes long-term if I didn’t lose weight.

Food Optimising has become a way of life for my whole family. We used to live on takeaways; now I love making ‘fakeaways’ like chicken curry and egg fried rice. We spend a lot of time at our allotment, growing vegetables and teaching the boys about healthy food. My husband also joined group and has lost 4½st. Losing weight gave me the confidence to start blogging and sharing photos of my journey on Facebook and Instagram. I have thousands of followers who help to keep me on track. I love inspiring people, too – if I can do it, anyone can. The most rewarding part is being able to give others hope that losing weight is possible. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I felt.

When I show Noah my old photos he doesn’t recognise me. He only knows his happy mummy who runs around the garden with the hose pipe, the mummy who can fit on to the rides at the theme park and the mummy who carries him on her shoulders. The mummy my boys deserve.

*Weight loss will vary due to your individual circumstances and how much weight you have to lose.