Mother who gained 7st during pregnancy is now back in her size 8 jeans with NO dieting after taking up exercise and eating what she wants as long as she's in calorie deficit

• e-mail

A first-time mother who put on 7st during pregnancy was shocked into slimming back into her size eight jeans - after seeing photos of herself at her son's christening.

Emma Forrester, 23, from Stafford, tipped the scales at 15st 9oz at her heaviest, but found the motivation to lose 6st and shrink back to 9st. She now wants to become a personal trainer to help other mothers shift their baby weight. 

She went went from a size eight to a size 18 during her surprise pregnancy when she was 20-years-old, due to snacking and binge-eating. 

The NHS worker struggled to shift her pregnancy weight for a year after her son Finn was born in September 2017. 

But when she was too ashamed to share photos of Finn's christening with her family because of the way she looked, she was spurred into action. 

Emma Forrester, 23, from Stafford, tipped the scale at 15st 9oz at her heaviest, but found the motivation to shrink back to 9st (pictured) and now wants to become a personal trainer to help other mothers shift their baby weight

The NHS worker admitted she would snack and binge during her pregnancy, which led her to put on seven stone, which she struggled to shift after the birth of her son Finn in 2017

She said: 'I used being pregnant as an excuse to eat and I constantly felt hungry - I would snack so much.

'With having a newborn, I was stuck in a rut and found myself sitting on the sofa all day snacking and bingeing on food.

'When I saw the pictures of me at my son's christening, I couldn't look at the photos or share them because I hated the way I looked and since then, I told myself that I wouldn't get back to that weight.

'I plucked up the courage to join a gym and when I first went, it was extremely daunting.I felt like people were looking at me, so I would wear big hoodies to cover myself up.

Emma, pictured now, said she was intimidated when she first joined her gym and felt people were looking at her, but eventually found her groove 

Now, the mother has reconnected with her confidence after losing the weight and said she felt she'd come a long way 

'I didn't feel that big at the time but now I look back and think, "Woah I've come a long way".

'My mental health has improved so much and I feel so much healthier, but I do have anxiety about being pregnant again in the future - I don't want to put it all back on.'

Emma, who had been working as a community house support worker, gave birth to her surprise baby Finn in September 2017 and had to completely change her lifestyle.

Emma during pregnancy with now fiancé Dominic Garner, 25. She admitted she would snack endlessly and binge eat 

The mother-of-one admitted that the surprise pregnancy when she was 20 completely changed her lifestyle 

'Being a first-time mum, I was only 20 and my whole lifestyle changed.

'I was at home more - I used to be out all the time with my friends and going places.

'It did have a bad effect on me, I went through a bad stage with my mental health because I was doing the same thing every day and just waiting for my partner to come home.' 

Despite Emma putting on seven stone during her pregnancy, it was Finn's christening that was the final straw for her to begin her weight loss journey.

Emma and Dominic with Finn the day of his christening. The mother-of-one admitted she felt embarrassed by the pictures 

Emma, pictured now, explained she started her weight loss journey by doing the Couch to 5K challenge to ease herself in 

'I started doing Couch to 5K which really helped because I hadn't exercised for such a long time and it really eased me in.

'I haven't done any crash diets, I eat what I want but I just make sure I'm in a calories deficit which I track by using apps and fitness bands.

'My fiancé really pushed me and encouraged us to start doing family exercises, such as going for a bike ride or going for a long walk.'

The picture that launched a weight loss journey. Emma said her partner Dominic had been really supportive of her efforts to lose weight 

Emma said she wanted to become a personal trainer to help other mothers shift the baby weight 

Emma is much happier about herself now than before she lost the weight (pictured before with Dominic)

Now, Emma is a healthy size eight and much happier with the way she looks and is hoping to help other first time mothers, who may be going through a similar thing.

'Don't be hard on yourself, it takes time. I have so many people ask how I did it but it's taken me time,' she said. 

'You have to be patient; a lot of people expect to lose so much weight so quickly.

'I still have down days now where I'm bloated and I feel sluggish. For women, our hormones changed throughout the month.

'Stick at it and don't give up, if you have a bad day that's fine. Just treat the next day as a fresh start.' 

The mother-of-one said she had not done any crash diet. She explained she ate what she wanted, but made sure she burnt more calories than she ate 

Dominic and Finn with Emma before her weight loss. The NHS worker said the process took time and demanded women be kinder to themselves 

Despite feeling good in her own skin, Emma said she still has times where she feels bloated and sluggish, and urged others not to give up if they have a bad day