Justin and Tracey survived on takeaways and junk food midnight feasts, until they changed their lives forever.
A super-slimming couple who proudly revealed their joint 20 stone weight loss at a special dieters’ club bash were told by fellow members to start piling the pounds back on, as they were so skinny they “looked ill.”
At his biggest, Justin Cooke, 42, a customer service adviser, weighed a whopping 19st 13lbs, while wife Tracey, 47, a health care assistant, was not far behind – tipping the scales at 18st 9lbs.
But friends and family soon became concerned about their appearance and feared they had taken their weight loss too far.
Tracey, of Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, said: “We went to the Slimming World annual party and everyone said Justin and I looked ill.
“We took offence at first, we couldn’t help but think that people were just jealous. But now we realise they were right.”
Both struggling throughout life to keep their weight down, after meeting in 1997, doner kebabs and fried chicken became a staple of their diet.
Tracy explained: “Justin and I have always bonded over food. On our first date I cooked him mushroom Chicken Tonight with rice. It all started from there really.”
After a year of dating the couple became engaged and, secure in their love, began piling on the pounds.
Tracy, who married Justin at Askham village, Cumbria, in 2001 explained: “We did what everyone does when you’re in a relationship… we became comfortable with each other.”
She added: “When you’re in love it doesn’t matter what you’re doing or who’s going to see you – as you’re off the market anyway.”
For Tracy, being “off the market” meant happily wolfing down gigantic portions of processed food.
A standard meal for the couple would include 500g of Bernard Matthews frozen mini chicken kievs, a 2kg bag of McCain’s frozen chips and two tins of Heinz baked beans.
Tracy said: “We would head to the local kebab shop and order extra-large doners with lashings of garlic mayo.
“Then, just before midnight, we’d enjoy a second dinner of frozen treats.”
The couple, who have two sons – Jamie, 25, a website designer, and Jake, 17, a public service apprentice – did not let parenthood get in the way of their obsession with food.
Bringing their sons, who are both a normal weight, up to eat healthily, while they were eating the last of their greens, Justin would secretly be ordering a takeaway to eat with Tracy later.
Tracy explained: “We’d give the boys something healthy, like jacket potatoes with beans, and order a Chinese to be delivered to the door and hide it in the kitchen until they went to bed.
“Then, as soon as lights went out, we’d have a romantic feast for two.”
Tracy’s turning point came after failing to land a job as a sales assistant because she could not fit in the size 22 uniform – the largest the retailer provided.
Tracy, who was then unemployed, said: “I was being interviewed for a job as a sales assistant and the interviewer asked what size I was.
“As soon as I told her I was a size 26, I knew then and there I wasn’t going to get it.”
She added: “I got home and ate a whole packet of chocolate digestives before crying myself to sleep.”
But it was not until Justin faced an embarrassing situation of his own that the pair vowed to beat the bulge once and for all together.
In early 2017, Justin, who suffers from arthritis, was due for an MRI scan, but doctors told him that he was too heavy to use the machine.
He explained: “Not only was it embarrassing, it made me realise just how much I’d put myself at risk.
“God forbid anything serious happened to me, because doctors wouldn’t be able to help even if they tried.”
After getting offered 12 weeks of Slimming World on referral from their GP, the couple visited their local group and were soon swapping frozen food and takeaways, for grilled fish and steamed vegetables.
Justin said: “If it wasn’t for that referral we never would have thought about visiting a Slimming World.”
Tracy added: “Walking through those doors for the first time was scary, everyone is looking at you and you can’t help but feel like you’re being judged.
“But soon we realised everyone was there for the same reason and before we knew it the weight was flying off.”
In just a year the couple lost over 20 stone, but when Justin and Tracy dropped down to 7st 7lbs and 8st 6lbs, respectively, making Justin thinner than his wife, friends and family became concerned.
Justin explained: “We spent a year losing all this weight and it was like our bodies didn’t know how to stop, we were eating normally, and our metabolisms just wouldn’t slow down.
“We never intended to get as low as we did, but we soon realised something had to change.”
Justin from a 48” waist to a 27” waist, and Tracey went from a size 26 to a size 8.
Tracy also realised she and her husband looked sick rather than slim and healthy.
She said: “We just went too far; at one point we couldn’t even open the supermarket fridge doors – they were too heavy.”
“I had to take a photo of Justin from behind so he could see just how skinny he’d got,” she added.
So, after the Slimming World party in May, the couple upped their goal weights and increased their healthy portion sizes.
Now Justin 5’2”, weighs 9st 3lbs and wears a size 30” waist, while Tracy, also 5’2”, weighs 9st 9lbs and wears a size 8.
Claiming they have never been happier, Tracy continued: “Looking back at that job interview almost two years ago, it’s hard to imagine that person was me.
“Now I’m doing a job I love, which is something I thought would never be possible because of my weight.
“We’ve turned our lives around. We look great and feel great and it’s so much more than just how we look in the mirror.”
