Worksop mum drops seven stone after knocking child over without noticing

Nicola Whitaker, 42, was a size 22 when in 2012 she turned around in her kitchen and knocked five-year-old Leoni to the floor.

Worryingly mum Nicola had knocked the child over with her backside without even noticing - until the youngster turned and said ‘you pushed me’.

Nicola told how, while holding her baby son and waving to him in the mirror, she saw her ‘bingo wings’ waving back at her and thought ‘is that really me?’

She had ballooned to 18 stone on a daily diet of pizza, McDonald’s for breakfast and dinner and constant snacking on crisps and chocolate.

The full-time mum finally decided ‘enough was enough’ after realising she was constantly worried her three children would be embarrassed of her.

She said: “I never realised how big I was until I was waving at my son in the mirror and thought ‘Ok, I’ve got to do something about it’.”

Retail assistant Nicola started by walking, taking short jogs and cutting back on the junk food - though she still thought of vegetables as a ‘bush tucker trial’.

After avoiding gyms for the first couple of years she gradually worked up the courage - graduating to Zumba and spinning classes. After six years she was down to 12 stone.

However she told how this year personal trainer Amanda Andrew challenged her to a 12-week fitness and diet programme which left her feeling ‘completely transformed’.

Nicola, who now feels ‘a lot better and a lot more self-confident’, started a Spartan diet of protein-rich, low-carbohydrate meals such as tuna, chicken and vegetables.

Though she admitted ‘it’s no fun having tuna as a midnight snack’ she told how ‘brutal’ Amanda had her deadlifting 100kg and leg-pressing full weight stacks in the gym.

After 12 weeks she was down to a size 10 and weighing a healthy 10 stone, 7 lbs.

She said: “My genuine friends are so proud - and so is my husband. But he would be wouldn’t he - I’m half the size I was.”

Thank you to all who support local journalism with a print subscription. The events of 2020 mean trusted, local journalism is more reliant than ever on your support. We couldn't do it without you. Please subscribe here https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/ so we can keep campaigning on your behalf. Stay safe.