Size 28 nursery worker had to slim as she was pre-diabetic – but then got told her dieting ‘shamed’ fat people

LOGGING on to my YouTube channel, I read the comments below my latest workout video.

‘You’re a sell-out,’ one person had written, while another posted: ‘If this is a plus-size channel, why are you talking about weight loss?’

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I worked as a nursery nurse and I’d only ever vlogged in my spare time to try to help people, so I was devastated that some of my 7,000 followers thought I’d betrayed them by changing my body.

Until then I’d been a plus-size vlogger, proud of my 5ft 6in, size-28, 25st 7lb body.

As a fashion lover, the focus of my videos was to show people that just because you’re big, it doesn’t mean you have to wear frumpy outfits.

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That all changed in January 2011 when my doctor diagnosed me as pre-diabetic.

For years he’d advised me to lose weight as I was obese, and I’d ignored him.

But now I was being told, at 26 years old, if I didn’t slim down I could be dependent on insulin for the rest of my life, it finally sunk in.

My aim was to be healthy enough to get out of the diabetes risk zone, and not to lose my curves. But it wasn’t easy.

Thanks to a lifelong diet of fried chicken, greasy burgers and cakes, I’d always been overweight, like the rest of my family.

When I was eight, my chest was so fat it looked like I’d developed breasts, which the boys in my class teased me about.

Then when I was 10, I was put on the scales at school and they read 15st 12lb.

I was so embarrassed, as I was more than twice the size of my classmates.

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Of course, our doctor kept telling my parents that we all needed to lose weight, but my mum Alice, who was a size 16, had also grown up with an unhealthy diet and had no idea where to start.

By the time I was 18, I was nearly 28st 8lb and had 48G breasts.

If I did get asked out on dates, I knew it was because men were in awe of my boobs, not because they liked me as a person.

But instead of doing anything about my size, I convinced myself there was no way I would be able to lose the weight, and decided I had to learn to love myself.

So I began standing taller and smiling more.

I was big, beautiful and fabulous and wasn’t going to let anyone bully me.

And it worked – people started to tell me how good I looked and how nice my clothes were.

It eventually inspired me to start vlogging from my bedroom in the summer of 2009, so I could help other big girls learn to dress for their body shape.

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I named my YouTube channel Plus Size Diva 24, attached a cheap webcam to my computer and began posting short videos modelling what I was wearing and explaining how I put the outfit together.

Within weeks, I was receiving really supportive feedback and my followers soon grew from hundreds into thousands.

They told me I was an inspiration and found my advice helpful.

But with the nice comments came the trolling – people would call me fat or use the N-word, but I refused to let it get to me as I had far more positive feedback than negative.

But when I received the stark warning that I was on the brink of developing diabetes, I knew things had to change.

A year earlier, my aunt Alicia had died of cancer in her early 40s and it suddenly hit me that I could die young, too.

I thought that if I began vlogging my weight-loss journey it might help me stick to it, and perhaps inspire others whose health was being compromised by obesity.

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My boyfriend Craig* – who I’ve been seeing on and off since I was at high school – supported me.

He told me he loved me unconditionally whatever my size, but assured me he’d encourage me along the way.

My first step was giving up the 2L of fizzy orange I drank every day, swapping it for water, which I totally hated.

It was such a tiny step, but really effective, as by May I’d lost over a stone and weighed 24st 6lb.

It was enough for my subscribers to ask why I looked different, so I confessed I was trying to lose weight and that even though I was happy to stay plus-size, I needed to be healthy.

While many viewers embraced it, others complained, accusing me of fat-shaming and telling me I’d fail.

I couldn’t believe they were so cruel, so I started a new vlog called Diva Slims Down in May 2011, where I could share my weight-loss story.

I knew that if I went for a diet of only vegetables and salads I’d fall at the first hurdle, so instead I cut every single meal I ate in half.

I also began going for short walks around my neighbourhood, which was incredibly hard as I was in terrible shape and would start sweating within 100m.

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But I kept going and over the next four months, as I also slowly introduced more fresh fruit and veg to my meals, I lost another 2st 2lb.

I vlogged every step, even sharing the moments when it felt like an impossible task, such as when my weight plateaued.

While I found losing my curves difficult, I also loved getting healthy and knew deep down that was more important.

The more I vlogged, the more positive feedback I received from my followers.

Plus, I could re-watch old videos and see how much my body had changed, which was a real incentive.

By May 2012, I weighed 14st 1lb.

I was eating 1,500 calories a day and going to the gym four times a week doing circuits and Zumba.
At first I felt self-conscious because a lot of things jiggled and moved – especially my breasts and my stomach.

But I soon realised the only one who cared about that was me.

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I hit my lowest weight of 11st 3lb in December 2012.

It was then that I decided to have surgery to remove all the excess skin on my stomach.

Since then, I’ve built up muscle, and my weight has plateaued at 11st 8lb.

I have aways felt sexy, but now I’m healthy, too, and Craig loves my new shape.

Many of my social media followers say I’ve inspired them to lose weight and some have shed over 7st.
I’ve even started a Facebook group where each member weighs in and posts a body shot every week to encourage each other to keep going.

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These days, I’m trying to post two videos each week on my vlog – one workout and one featuring a recipe – to my 123,000 subscribers.

I do make a little money from advertising, but not enough to stop working as a nursery nurse.

But I don’t do it for the money – I do it because I love spurring others on and it helps me stay on track.

When I look back at my old lifestyle I’m amazed at what I used to eat.

Sometimes a follower will tell me they’ve stumbled across my old vlog and can’t believe I’m the same girl.

But it just goes to show that if I can do it, anyone can.

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Before

Weight 25st 7lb

Size 28

Breakfast Starbucks venti Caramel Macchiato with extra caramel

Lunch Fried chicken, cheeseburger or hot dog with fries

Dinner Large pizza with a 2L bottle fizzy orange

Snacks Brownies or cake

AFTER

Weight 11st 8lb

Size 10

Breakfast Egg-white omelette or 1/2 cup porridge with fruit

Lunch Tuna with vegetables

Dinner Chicken breast with vegetables

Snacks Fruit