LIfe-changing weight loss journey of north Derbyshire mum who struggled to breathe, was taken off a ride at Alton Towers and whose kids had to tie her shoelaces

Mum-of-four Jemma Field has slimmed down from 24st 5lbs to 12st 9.5lbs in just 16 months. "It’s a dream come true to be this size,” said Jemma. “I can now run around with my children. They have been among my biggest supporters by encouraging me and coming on walks with me."

Jemma, who lives at Cemetery Road, Danesmoor and is married to Lee, was having trouble breathing when she joined Slimming World in 2021. A lifelong condition means that she is only able to breathe through her mouth, an issue that was made worse by the amount of weight she was carrying.

She said: "Every time I lay down at night, I’d struggle to breathe; I could only walk a couple of steps without passing out. I thought if I don’t join Slimming World, I might not be here for the kids.

"My youngest was asked by one of his classmates if I was pregnant with being so big, which was embarrassing. My kids used to have to put my socks and shoes on as I couldn't reach my feet.”

"You try and hide it but you still get people calling you fat in the street so I used to stay in the house all day.”

Now acquaintances that Jemma has known for years will walk past without recognising her. She said: "I feel like going up to people and saying you can change your life by losing weight."

Jemma, whose daughter and three sons are aged from 13 to 7 years, admits that the Covid pandemic was a particularly stressful time for her. "I got a lot of anxiety and thought me and the kids were going to die,” she said. “It made me eat more and pile more of the weight on. I would binge eat – big pizzas, anything I could get my hands on.

"When I was having my Covid vaccinations they had to get an extra large needle because my arms were really big. Luckily, I didn't get Covid until about 18 months ago when I'd lost a bit of weight otherwise I don't think that I'd have survived."

With the help of Slimming World, 34-year-old Jemma has switched her diet from pizzas to baby spinach, broccoli, eggs and baked oats and allows herself the occasional treat such as yoghurt with Biscotti.

She now walks more than ten miles a day and can complete the trek downhill from Danesmoor to Chesterfield in one hour 15 minutes. She said: "Walking makes me feel better - it's good for my mental health as well as my physical health."

Jemma, has also taken up hula hooping. "It's toned me up a lot around my hips,” she said. “I also go on the wobble machine at the Bret Club in Danesmoor which relieves all the aches."

Now a size 12 dress size, Jemma says she could fit two of her children in the size 24-26 coat that she wore before losing weight. She said: "I used to wear quite baggy clothes to hide my stomach - now I can wear T-shirts.”

She has celebrated reaching milestones in her weight loss journey by having her hair dyed darker and buying herself a new top.

Jemma said: "I'm not far off my Club 50 award from Slimming World, which is losing half my body weight. I'm thinking I can get to 11st as I don't feel ready to stop yet.

"I want to inspire people to make that change...you can do it and it will change your life."

There is still another goal that she wants to achieve for her children. Jemma said: “I want to go back to Alton Towers as I once got taken off a ride in front of my kids as the bar wouldn’t close.”

Kerry Wright, consultant at Danesmoor Simming World, said: "Jemma's determination and dedication to changing her whole lifestyle is infectious. She's gone from hiding in the back of the group not saying a word to helping me out with all the roles in the group. She's a role model to her children and everyone she meets. I and the whole of Danesmoor Slimming World find Jemma so inspiring."

The Slimming World group runs on Mondays at 9am, 10.30am, 5pm and 6.30am at St Barnabas Centre in Danesmoor.

Photos of Jemma’s weight loss achievements and healthy meals are posted on her social media page www.instagram.com/sw_mo4_jemf