Woman Sheds 8 Stone for Wedding Dress
A bride-to-be transformed her body, losing eight stone in nine months to fit into her dream wedding dress without weight-loss injections.
Emilie Heeks, a 26-year-old make-up artist from Pershore, Worcestershire, drastically altered her lifestyle to achieve a significant weight loss. At her heaviest, she weighed 17 stone 12 pounds and wore a size 22. After her boyfriend, Ollie, proposed at the end of 2024, she set a goal to lose weight before their wedding.
Heeks joined Slimming World in January of the previous year and, within nine months, had lost eight stone, reaching a weight of 9 stone 12 pounds and a size eight. She attributed her previous weight gain to a diet consisting of sausage rolls, pizzas, takeaways, and full-fat fizzy drinks. At times, she would skip breakfast and opt for a bacon roll and coffee, followed by a chicken bake and chips for lunch. Dinners frequently consisted of takeaways like Chinese, pizza, or curry. She noted that she has always struggled with her weight, and the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, also contributed to her weight issues.
Heeks stated that she did not want to use weight-loss injections or diet pills, preferring to change her lifestyle. She met Ollie, a plasterer, in 2016, and they often ate large meals together. While he needed the calories for his rugby, she did not burn them off, which negatively impacted her mental health.
She reached her target weight by October of last year and maintained it for her wedding to Ollie, 25, in May. Heeks discovered a passion for exercise as she lost weight, now running up to 20 kilometers weekly and hiking with Ollie on weekends. She began running after losing five stone and now exercises three to four times a week.
Heeks now prepares healthy versions of her favorite foods from scratch. She expressed that looking at her wedding photographs highlights the dramatic change in her appearance. She described her wedding day as amazing, filled with confidence, and one of the best days of her life. She added that Ollie is very proud of her.
Emilie's diet before included a bacon roll and coffee for breakfast, a chicken bake meal deal and potato wedges for lunch, and takeaway pizza, Chinese, or curry for dinner. After her transformation, her diet consists of Weetabix, fruit, and low-fat Greek yogurt for breakfast; salads and healthy sandwiches for lunch; and pasta and low-fat "fakeaway" meals for dinner.