TOO FAT FOR HUGS BUT NOW I'VE LOST 9 STONE

Aged 27, I was swept off my feet by my gorgeous husband, Lee, now 42. I was 13st and loved my curvy figure. Lee was the perfect gentleman, and we quickly fell in love. We enjoyed nights out at fancy restaurants and cosy evenings in feasting on takeaways. But our romantic nights took its toll on my weight, and I gained four stone in as many years. Lee told me he'd love me at any size, so I wasn't too worried. However, my weight spiralled out of control after falling pregnant in 2003 with my son, Oliver. Three years later, I weighed a whopping 20st. ‘Does my bum look big in this?’ I asked Lee, as I stuffed myself into a pair of size-24 jeans.

Other great stories
THUG FISH LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT BATTER PHOTOGRAPHER

STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .

KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES

THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .

MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS

MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .

BASHFUL ORANGUTAN

A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .

HOLY COW! DARING FARMERS IN THRILLING CATTLE RACE

An Indonesian farmer is dragged through muddy water as he clings to the tails of two charging cows .

ROAD KILL ON THE MENU

A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .

CALAMITY AIRSTRIP 15 YEARS ON

FIFTEEEN years after it was closed pictures by a British teacher show the calamity Hong Kong airport that was closed for being too dangerous .

AMAZING PEN ART

FROM THE world famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting to a jaguar in the grass, these incredible drawings are created from coloured ballpoint pens .

GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL

RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .

BIRD ATTACK

A pair of bank myna birds fight it out in front of their ladies .

REAL LIFE DOLLS HOUSE

Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .

RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .