'I was so upset when I saw the wedding photos - but then one sentence changed my life'

Leoni Bookatz, 44, from Broughton Park, Salford, was left mortified when she saw the photos from her brother's wedding in 2014 - but a single sentence from her son changed everything

A mother of eight was left horrified when she saw photos of herself at her brother's wedding - but a comment from her son made her make a life-changing decision.

Leoni Bookatz, 44, from Broughton Park, Salford, had been battling with comfort eating and felt "out of control" around food, particularly home-baked goods. Her appearance in the 2014 wedding pictures shocked her so much that she swore off appearing in family photos forever.

But a single comment from her teenage son sparked an incredible transformation that completely changed Leoni's life. "[The wedding] was a beautiful day, but when I saw the photos, I was devastated," said the special education needs teacher. "The person I saw in the pictures wasn't who I felt I was inside.

"I was so embarrassed that I vowed never to be in any family photos again. But then my 15 year old son said, 'When you die, we won't have any photos of you to show our children'. That really struck a chord."

Prompted by her son's poignant words, Leoni joined Slimming World in April 2017, weighing 15 stone and wearing a size 20 dress at the time, reports the Manchester Evening News. By adhering to low-calorie diets and regular exercise, Leoni managed to shed an impressive three stone now tipping the scales at 12 stone and fitting comfortably into size 14 clothes.

Reflecting on her weight loss journey, she shared: "It was a lot of emotional eating, being too tired to cook from scratch and not knowing how to find quick and healthy meals. I felt out of control, especially around home baking. Through Slimming World I learned how to choose low-calorie but super filling foods so I never felt hungry. I've slowly become more active I now run twice a week, join my younger daughter's karate class and go to Pilates every week with a friend."

"I could not have lost the weight without the support of my Slimming world consultant and my group. Alyson and later Louise, my consultants, helped me dig deeper and understand the habits that were holding me back from my dreams. With the support and ideas from the group, I came up with plans to build new healthy lifelong habits."

"The [wedding] photos made me feel so sad and we've never printed any of them because I hated them so much so I have no photos from my brother's wedding. They were a massive wake-up call because I just didn't see myself that way. It coloured my memory of the whole event and my girls were upset I couldn't join in their excitement in remembering it."

Leoni recently attended a wedding abroad and felt a newfound confidence in her appearance. "The wedding was in Jerusalem and was beautiful," she added. "I felt fabulous and was able to look forward to the photos and to meeting my daughter's in-laws whereas in the past I would have hidden behind my husband.

"I also would have been embarrassed about people seeing me eat at the wedding meal. Now I could just enjoy it knowing that I could choose the best foods for my weight loss without having an empty plate or being hungry. And of course, watching my first daughter get married filled me with pride even if it still feels a bit surreal. I feel so much more confident walking into unknown situations now, not just because I'm so much slimmer, but because my journey has helped me learn how much stronger I am than I ever thought I could be. I am capable of such amazing things."