My name's Laura Hodgkinson, I'm 26,
and I'm an outreach worker from Atherton, Lancashire.
When I was at school, I did lots of afterschool clubs,
and always did dancing from an early age,
and swimming twice a week, as well.
Once I passed my driving test,
I wanted to drive everywhere.
I never wanted to walk.
And I never was walking.
I was jumping into the car and nipping to the shop,
even if it was just around the corner.
That's when I started piling on the weight.
I started dancing when I was two, and did it twice a week from then on.
I gave it up, because I was just too big.
I didn't want anybody looking at me,
because of my size.
Not keeping any exercise up,
it was probably the worst decision I could ever make.
When I met Grant five years ago,
I probably was about a size 16.
I suppose you comfort eat because we were happy,
and we wanted to spend nights in,
where we got takeaways and had a few beers.
We do need to book our holiday.
- Where do we fancy going? - Where do you want to go?
What's here?
Eventually, my weight went up to 17st 2lbs.
Being the size I was,
I didn't realise how much I was putting my life in danger,
from heart attacks to strokes.
It was Grant's 30th birthday,
and I saw a photograph,
and I thought, "It's about time I did something,"
because I didn't like what I was seeing.
I just want to look good and feel good.
When I started dieting,
I felt that small targets were the best.
It wasn't immediate change.
I needed to get my head round the healthier options,
rather than the option that I used to have,
which was quite unhealthy.
I think it's the way of life now.
Grant's the chef.
- Strips or chunks? - Strips.
He really enjoys cooking, which is a plus for me,
because he knows what the healthy options for us to eat are,
and the variety of things that we can eat, as well.
Are they all right?
For dinner I used to have things
like takeaways or processed food,
but now we cook everything from scratch.
We also use a lot of fresh vegetables,
and use them all in different ways.
We still do curries and chillies,
and chicken with veg and Sunday dinners,
but it's all done the healthy way,
using FryLight instead of oils.
I used to have biscuits with my brews mid-morning,
and sometimes mid-afternoon, we would have a biscuit, as well.
I changed my snacking habits to fruit.
I do tend to like raspberries and strawberries and blackberries.
Something easy,
and something that I can pick at at my desk.
I'm an outreach worker,
and I help families to access local services.
When I was meeting families at their homes,
I would jump in the car,
and drive there and drive back,
even if it was only a couple of minutes away.
- Hello. - Hello, Gemma. You all right?
But now I always try and make sure
that I give myself enough time
to walk to the homes.
I was doing exercise, and didn't realise I was doing it.
The good thing is I'm not coming home from work
and on the sofa.
I'm going out and doing things.
When I finished work, I started going
for probably an hour's walk at my speed,
and then after when I felt like I was fitter,
I decided to use the local gym,
the outdoor gym that we have.
I carry on doing it, because I'm enjoying it.
I was 17st 2lbs,
and now I'm 12 stone,
and I feel absolutely brilliant.
I feel on top of the world, and can't wait to lose a bit more.
I realised that I should start dancing again.
I started off, and I could only dance between one and two minutes,
but as the weeks go on,
I'm doing the full dance.
And it's such a good feeling knowing that I can do that twice a week,
and probably I've not done that for a good six or seven years.
It makes me feel great, really happy about it,
and I'm doing something again that I do love doing.
I was a dead man walking.
The time has come for me to take action.
I was 17st 2lb,
and now I'm 12 stone,
and I feel absolutely brilliant.
Now I actually feel excited for the future.
You're told that you have a disease
that's going to be with you for the rest of your life.
It was an absolute shock.
I love my life now.
There's a future, and I'm going to live it.