Mum-of-two on weight-loss mission shocked to discover she shed the pounds during PREGNANCY

Emily Clark, 27, lost half a stone in the final three months of her pregnancy with son Finlay after becoming disillusioned with the size of her stomach during a routine scan.

Her doctor told her she has 'saved a heart attack' after her heart rate has dropped and she adopted a much healthier lifestyle

The defiant mother has now dropped from weighing 20 stone and wearing size 24 clothes to losing a staggering seven stone in just a year.

Emily, who also has a four-year-old daughter, Freyja, said her life has been completely changed and she feels like a new person.

Emily, a community resource worker, said: "I've always been overweight but I have always been healthy and was quite active, but going to university I just really put on a lot of weight.

"I was eating late and missing meals and grabbing snacks which is not the best thing to do."

"I know Slimming World works and I know it is approved by midwives so I was doing it safely."

Emily originally started on her weight loss journey over four years ago after the birth of her daughter but said she lacked determination and couldn't stick to the diet.

She added: "Being a new mum I was so busy and I was just focusing on that.

"I was working 14-hour shifts and eating the wrong foods.

"I would eat a jacket potato with tuna and beans at lunch and not eat again until I had a supermarket meal at midnight.

"I struggled with discipline and sticking to a regime."

The mother-of-two said she is proud of what she has achieved and believes her life has completely changed.

She added: "Lots of people think you cannot diet during pregnancy but it's not a diet to me.

"I wanted the best thing for my baby but I needed to put good things into me to do this.

"It is out of this world. I feel like me again.

"I was a size 14 when I was younger. I look in the mirror and I feel good.

"It's an extra focus when you are growing a little life. You want to be the best you can be for them."

Emily, from Bradford, West Yorks., is now focusing on having fun with her children and can now play with them at trampoline parks or go on slides, which she said she "would get stuck on" before her incredible weight loss.

She said: "Knowing Freyja loves the park I never let my weight or size stop activities but I can happily jump in the swing and swing with her.

"I can feel confident I can do it.

"The person inside is what you want to be - you should be that person."

Emily's Slimming World consultant, Kirsty Fountain, who runs sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays at the Eccleshill Mechanics Institute, says: "We do work in partnership with the midwives and we do have a lot of pregnant mums.

"A lot do decide to carry on during pregnancy. Emily went right the way through her pregnancy and she is absolutely doing amazing.

"She is incredible, she is an inspiration to the group but also to me. The positivity she uses in the group and to anybody who talks to her is catching, it really is."

Emily, who was nominated for her Slimming World group's Miss Slinky award, says while she has always been active, losing weight has given her the confidence to do things she wouldn't do before such as sitting in a swing with her daughter.

Slimming World spokesperson Nicala Ricks said: "Slimming World do not advise on weight change during a member's pregnancy and do not encourage weight loss during this time – it’s about helping women to manage their weight.

"We support members to eat a healthy diet and remain physically active.

"We also support members in achieving any weight change recommendations made by their health care team, particularly in preventing excess weight gain during this time.

"Any member wishing to continue attending their Slimming World group during their pregnancy is required to gain the support of their midwife."