A woman was spurred on to lose weight so she could look and feel her best on her wedding day. Jacqui Anderson used to work as a driving instructor, which involved little exercise, before her weight loss journey.
It all began in 2020 when she proposed to her partner Richard. Like many couples, their nuptial plans were put on hold due to Covid.
The couple decided to wait until the pandemic, and the various lockdowns had ended before tying the knot. And during this period, Jacqui overhauled her diet and lifestyle.
At a petite 5ft 4in tall, she weighed 11st 6lb, and decided to join Slimming World. "I just wanted not to look fat and frumpy in my wedding dress. "I didn't want to look like a fat fairy," she exclusively told Nottinghamshire Live.
Jacqui lost just over one stone, slimming down to 10st 4lb and hitting her target weight before her wedding. On the big day she showed off her new figure in a beautiful lace-embellished elegant vintage-style calf-length dress.
She said: "I got into my dress fine. We left it quite late getting the dress. When I bought it, it was a bit tight, but it fitted perfectly on the day."
Before losing weight, her diet consisted of processed foods and petrol station meal deals which she grabbed on her lunch break when she was a driving instructor. But now, she cooks all of her meals from scratch and freezes some for days when she doesn't have time to cook.
She's ditched her job behind the wheel and now works as a supply teacher and gardens for people in the village. She has said goodbye to working long hours, stress, sitting in the passenger seat all the time as a driving instructor, and not getting much exercise.
"Before, when I pulled into a petrol station, it was a 'meal deal' - but now I make my lunch the night before to take with me," said a proud Jacqui. Another milestone for Jacqui was keeping the weight off for her daughter Cara's wedding, 10 weeks after her wedding to Richard.
"Cara had her hen do with her friends in Croatia," said Jacqui. "I wanted to be in a swimsuit. All her friends were in their 20s, and there is mum... which kept me on track, as I wanted to remain looking good.
"My weight loss journey was around the houses - up and down, and up and down - but I got there in the end! It took me a year to lose 16lbs. If I had done it really quickly, I don't think I would have maintained it".
Michelle Tinlin, her Slimming World consultant, has been brilliant and supportive, said Jacqui. "She is at the end of the phone day and night to support you. She's on WhatsApp and sends words of encouragement. There is a Facebook group which is really active and people post recipes, help and support."
Michelle said Jacqui reached out to her when virtual groups were running during lockdown. "Like so many of us, her particular weakness was chocolate! We've had many a conversation about 'what else can I have as an alternative?'
"She was so determined to lose this weight. She had two main goals - one was for her own wedding and also, shortly afterwards, her daughter's wedding. She just did an incredible job really. Her journey wasn't a smooth one but she kept persevering, coming in every week and eventually she got there.
"She has done brilliant staying at her target weight. She comes to group each week. I always call my target members 'professionals', because at the end of the day, they have done it and share their ideas and inspiration. People can really look up to them. That's really nice that she does this and continues to give support to others.
"She looked absolutely stunning on her wedding day; smiling from ear-to-ear. It was well-deserved. It was just lovely to get another member to reach their dream weight."
