'An awful moment at a soft play area with my baby told me I needed to change'

Having endured a difficult pregnancy, Kim Walker was looking forward to finally enjoying motherhood with her baby boy.

The 41-year-old couldn’t wait to take the tot to a soft play area for his first experience on a slide. But having gained weight from comfort eating, her excitement soon turned into embarrassment.

Kim had her little one on her lap when she suddenly became stuck, forcing her to awkwardly shuffle them both to the bottom.

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The mum laughed it off for the camera – but deep down she was horrified. It was the wake-up call she needed to make major lifestyle changes.

“My hips acted as built in brakes and I had to shuffle us down to the bottom,” Kim said. “Not the speed thrilling first experience I had hoped he would have had.

“I had never experienced anything like that before, so it completely caught me off guard. I laughed it off for the camera, but inside I was feeling mortified that I had done this to myself.”

Kim began struggling with her weight after landing her first graduate job in her mid-20s. Eating mindlessly at her desk – often well into the evening – her diet mostly consisted of crisps and chocolate from the vending machine.

Not only did the mum not enjoy the role, she was also struggling to cope with a relationship breakdown. “I was eating such an unbalanced diet,” Kim said. “Over time, it became a bad habit of comfort eating huge amounts of junk food.

“On top of this, when I was out of the office, I was comfort eating to help me get over my first breakup, a job I wasn’t enjoying and being lonely having moved away from my family and friends. I was living on my own for the first time.

“This habit continued to spiral out of control leaving me feeling extremely low. I lacked the confidence, energy and self-worth I used to have and I would comfort eat to try and feel better.”

Sadly, things took a turn for the worse when Kim’s father died of cancer – an “absolutely devastating” loss that only exacerbated her comfort eating.

“I turned to the only coping mechanism I knew and ate... a lot,” Kim said. “I wanted to push down all the uncomfortable emotions I did not want to be experiencing believing this was my only way of coping.”

Her weight meant Kim also started experiencing major joint pain, the agony having a significant impact on her daily life.

The mum decided to sign up to a pain management programme but realised her condition was rapidly deteriorating, later developing chronic conditions including endometriosis.

Determined to slim down to ease her symptoms, Kim attempted to lose weight but always ended up gaining back whatever she had lost.

It wasn’t until she visited her GP for a routine appointment that she was offered a free 12-week referral for Slimming World – an opportunity that would change her habits for good.

“I now know my previous attempts failed because I hadn’t changed my mindset, addressed my bad eating habits or coping mechanisms,” Kim said.

“I visited my local GP for a routine appointment and was advised of a free 12-week referral scheme to join a local Slimming World group. I was totally blown away at being given such an opportunity and it came just at the right time.”

Kim signed up to her local group in May this year and has managed to lose an incredible 2.5st in just five months. Now working as a Slimming World consultant herself, she runs the Ashton-on-Mersey Group every Monday night at St Mary Magdalene Church Centre.

By following a food plan and joining a gym, Kim says she feels lighter, toned, happier and much more confident.

“I can really notice the difference in how my body moves and feels,” she added. “I love feeling my clothes getting looser and I definitely now recognise the face smiling back at me in the mirror.

“I love seeing how happy I look in photos – the smile is genuine and not forced – and I can now confidently whizz down the slides with my son on my lap as we both shriek with joy and excitement.

“Running up the stairs without my knees hurting is now doable which is great when I’m trying to get us ready and out the door. I invariably forget multiple things and I have a much better chance at keeping up with my toddler.”