

A woman who was too overweight to wear a car seatbelt lost 20st through dieting and exercise after refusing to burden the taxpayer with NHS weight loss surgery.

Emma Sealey, 35, from Redditch, believed she would die before she reached her 40th birthday unless she slimmed down her 28st 8lbs frame.

Despite family members urging her to petition her GP to have an NHS gastric band fitted, she decided to lose the weight naturally and lost an incredible 19st 9lb.

She dropped from a size 32 to a size eight, slimming down to 8st 13lb in just two years.

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Left: Emma Sealey pictured at her heaviest weight of 20 stone; Right: Emma at her current weight of 8 stone 13lbs

She said: 'I could barely walk from my house to my fiancé's car, let alone walk around the block, and when I got there I couldn't even fit the seatbelt over me.'

'I hadn't stepped on scales for years but when I found out how much I weighed I was disgusted with myself,' she added.

'I needed to do something about it, but I knew it was my problem and I had to get myself out of it. I didn't want surgery on the NHS - I want the NHS to concentrate on spending money on people who actually need it.'

Emma Sealey, 35, of Redditch (pictured left at her heaviest), was too overweight to wear a car seatbelt and lost a stunning 20st through dieting (pictured right recently)

Emma exercising part way through her weight loss journey, which saw her drop 20 stone

Emma started gaining weight in childhood after a close friend died.

She said: 'I was devastated, and I expect it was one of the triggers for my comfort eating. I had a fairly tumultuous childhood. At one point I was sent to boarding school, and didn't want to go home at the weekends because I was so unhappy there.

'I found it easy to turn to food to cheer me up - things like chocolate and crisps. But the lift was always temporary. Before long I was overweight and I was suffering inside, feeling ashamed of myself.'

Emma after her weight loss with her fiancé Brian (left) and ready for a night out (right). Her weight started to fall away at a rate of a stone a month after she adopted a healthy eating plan

By September 2010 Emma weighed nearly 29st and her health was starting to deteriorate.

She said: 'Looking back, I was lucky I wasn't in a wheelchair. I couldn't walk up stairs without becoming out of breath and putting the seat belt on in Brian's car around me left me hugely uncomfortable.

'My mother told me to apply for a gastric band on the NHS. I refused.

'I don't agree with weight loss surgery on the NHS in general. It should be given only to those who can't exercise. If your legs work, and there's nothing critically wrong with your body, you can find a way out of it.'

She visited her local GP in the hope of getting a referral for weight-loss classes.

Emma before she lost weight. Emma lost a stunning 20 stone after refusing to burden the taxpayer with NHS weightloss surgery

She said: 'I hadn't stepped on a weighing scale for years and I was terrified about what it was going to tell me. When I realised I was 28st 8lbs I was absolutely disgusted with myself.

'It was the first time I'd been weighed in years. I didn't need the doctor to say anything. I knew I had to do something - in my heart I knew that if I didn't do something, I wouldn't live to see my 40th birthday. My BMI was 73.2.'

Considering the ideal BMI is 18.5-24.9 and over 40 is considered obese, Emma knew she had to take action.

'It was nothing to be proud of. It was the wake-up call I needed.'

With the help of a local Cambridge Weight Plan consultant, Emma started to wean herself off fattening convenience foods.

Before beginning her weight loss regime, Emma typically ate nothing for breakfast, followed by sausage rolls and a large bag of cheese and onion crisps for lunch, with a chicken curry with rice and naan bread for her evening meal.

Emma part of the way through her weight loss (left) and exercising on her cross trainer at home (right) when nearing her goal weight

She would also snack on chocolate, particularly Kit Kats during the day.

To lose weight, she switched to Bran Flakes with skimmed milk for breakfast, with a tuna sandwich on brown bread for lunch, with steamed white fish with fresh vegetables for her evening meals. When she snacks, she tucks into apples, oranges, strawberries and pears.

As her weight started to fall away at a rate of a stone a month, she also began regular exercise.

She said: 'I go on a cross-trainer I have at home and I love jogging and cycling when the weather is good enough.'

Emma now weighs 8st 13lbs and can wear a size eight dress, having dropped 12 dress sizes - an incredible total weight loss of 19st 9lbs.

She said: 'I'm a lot more confident now - I love walking past the shop window and looking at my reflection.