A NEW mum says a wedding snap of her wearing a size 18 dress left her "horrified and mortified" and was the catalyst for her dramatic weight loss.

Carolynn Condie, 35, from Ibrox on Glasgow's South Side, says she used breastfeeding "as an excuse" to eat anything she wanted afer having her first baby and her weight soared.

She says the final straw came when she had to lie to herself about what size of dress she needed for a friend's wedding. buying a too tight size 18 instead of a 20.

She signed up for WW (the new Weight Watchers) after previously losing a lot on weight on the plan, straight after seeing the pictures but struggled to stay motivated because she was also battling post natal depression.

Fast forward a few months and and Carolynn is now a slim size eight, going from almost 16 stones to 11 stones 12 pounds, has been able to come off her medication (for PND) and says she is a lot less reliant on an inhaler for asthma.

Glasgow Times:

She said: "My new family life was amazing, and I loved being a new mum, but it also came with its pitfall of me putting all the weight back on. 

"I was breastfeeding and used that as an excuse that I could eat anything I wanted.

"It got to that point when I was finally needing a size 18 dress to attend a friend’s wedding.

"Being honest it should have been a size 20 I bougght. When I had to lie to myself what size of dress I actually needed, and not what I thought I needed, is when the time had come to take control and do something about my spiralling weight.

"I was horrified and mortified at how I felt at the wedding, and seeing the pictures was not comfortable.

"Straight after the wedding took place, I decided to join WW as I had previously been a member several years ago and had a successful weight loss."

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"When I re-joined, I struggled to get my head in the right place as I was suffering with post-natal depression.
"Being a new mum and having to deal with this just made concentrating on my health really difficult."

Carolynn says she turned a corner after WW introduced her to the Freestyle Plan, which aims to help develop a healthier way of eating for life, with an emphasis on cooking from scratch and a points system for food.

She said: "What I loved about the plan was that I could eat anything I wanted as no food was off limits, and it taught me about portion control and how to build healthy habits that could fit in with my family life. 

"I get to enjoy foods with my daughter, and she sees that mummy gets to eat treats too, and I love the fact that I’m teaching her healthy habits from a young age, and hopefully she won’t have the same weight issues I had.

"My husband Neill has also lost weight, an amazing two stones."

Glasgow Times:
Carolynn has now signed up to be a coach to help inspire others to lose weight.

She said: "I now have so much more confidence in myself, and I’m now able to wear clothes that I’ve always dreamed of. 

"I can now wear a comfortable size 8. I’m having fun with my daughter without being embarrassed or ashamed of my size.

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"I have reduced the number of times I need to use my inhaler, and I have also come off my post-natal depression medication, as my doctor is so pleased with my new outlook in life, that I don’t need them.

"I’ve came through a roller-coaster but got there in the end, and my advice to anyone who thinks they can’t do it is to celebrate all the mini goals.

"Don’t worry about a bad day... it’s one day out of the rest of your life! Draw the line under it and get back out there living your life."