Fad dieter Emma went back to basics in a bit to beat the bulge once and for all
A woman who was so overweight she used a wheelchair after having a baby has spoken about her inspiring transformation – shedding six stone, marrying a filmmaker 10 years her junior and becoming a weight loss coach.
A svelte size 10 when she began working in telecommunications in her early 20s, Emma Hamlin, 42, said her weight crept on after marrying her first husband in 2003, then piling on when she began “eating for two” in 2007, after falling pregnant with her son Jake, now 11.
Before she knew it, Emma, who also has another son, Luca, nine, had ballooned to a size 16, weighing 15 stone, which with her 5ft 5in frame made her so tired she needed a wheelchair to visit the local shopping centre.
But her worst humiliation came when Emma, who was born in Liverpool, north west England but has lived in Melbourne, south eastern Australia, since she was 12, got stuck in the back of a vintage car.
She said: “We’d hired a classic motor as a treat for my dad’s 50th birthday in 2008, but when we arrived at the venue I couldn’t even lift my own weight with my arms.
“The car door slammed and everybody went to go inside the venue and I felt so helpless. Luckily it wasn’t long before my family spotted I wasn’t with them and they came back to help me out.
“The problem was I’d been spending my whole life prioritising everything above myself. My life revolved around my work and my husband and in the process I ended up neglecting me.”
Falling pregnant with her firstborn in 2007 gave Emma the perfect excuse to scoff all her favourite sweet treats.
“I took the term ‘eating for two’ to whole new levels, I would happily eat three or four slices of cake in the office that colleagues would bring in,” she admitted.
“Then on the way home I’d swing by the KFC drive through, eat a fried chicken meal in the car park, before heading home and making my husband and I a chilli or spag Bol with a shed load of cheese and garlic bread.”
Discussing the birth of baby Jake, who was born by emergency C-section in 2008, after a prolonged labour of 35 hours, Emma explained how the pregnancy had a devastating impact on her mental health and self-esteem.
“I remember looking at myself for the first time after giving birth and just thinking, ‘What happened to you?’” she added.
By then weighing 15 stone, the new mum found it difficult to walk more than a few paces without support and would resort to using a wheelchair if she left the house to do her weekly shop.
“I was in so much pain and discomfort after giving birth I had to use a wheelchair. Looking back I know now it wasn’t normal to need a wheelchair after all those months, my weight was hindering my recovery and my confidence,” she said.
By 2013, then a mum-of-two, sadly Emma’s marriage to her first husband, who she does not wish to name, had broken down and she started to explore different ways to lose weight, including diet shakes and eliminating certain food groups.
“My lightbulb moment was that feeling of being a beached whale in the back of that vintage motor, ” she said. “But back then, I didn’t have the knowledge or tools to lose the weight properly.
“Instead, I spent years bouncing from fad diet to fad diet, losing a few pounds before piling more back on.”
Sick and tired of spending money on diets that were not working, Emma went back to basics in a bid to beat the bulge once and for all.
“I knew the only way to make progress was to completely re-programme my relationship with food,” she explained.
“I went back to the drawing board, did research on what constitutes a healthy meal and began meal planning in advance.”
Her research led Emma to adopt a ‘well-balanced plate’ approach to food, ensuring each meal was half fruit or vegetables, a quarter carbohydrate
and a quarter protein.
Swapping canteen lunches and secret takeaways for homemade muesli and open sandwiches, Emma soon started to see the results of her ‘clean diet.’
Discussing the impact of losing nearly six stone, she said: “As soon as the weight started to come off it wouldn’t stop.
“Within a few weeks of cutting out the junk food and sweets I found that my energy levels skyrocketed.
“I made sure I was well hydrated throughout the day and could finally take the children to the park or the beach – things I’d always struggled to do before.”
Suddenly able to fit in to clothes she had not worn in years, Emma had a complete transformation – which did not go unnoticed.
“I went from being the invisible lady to being the centre of attention, something that hadn’t happened since my university days,” she said.
“People would come up to me in the street and tell me how incredible I looked, acquaintances I hadn’t seen in years.
“Then I met Matthias, my second husband, through work in 2017 when he was filming a documentary in Melbourne and he came over to introduce himself before asking me out on a date.”
Soon they fell in love and were married at a local register office in Melbourne after he proposed on a romantic boat trip in Prague, in the Czech Republic.
Emma said of their age gap: “No one bats an eyelid when the husband is 10 years older, so why should it matter if it’s the other way around.
“Matthias is a brilliant husband and a great stepfather, that’s all that I care about.”
After having a new lease of life at 40, Emma grew used to people asking what the secret was to her weight loss success.
“I documented my progress on Facebook and Instagram, sharing the occasional motivational quote or weight loss technique, and it really spoke to people,” she explained.
“By the time I’d dropped all the weight – going from 15st and a size 16 to 9st and a size 8 – people ranging from old classmates to complete strangers wanted to know how I did it.
“What always surprises people most is hearing that I was able to do all of this without going to the gym – it just goes to show how important your diet is.
“That’s when I thought to myself, ‘You’ve got an opportunity to help people here.’”
Building up an online presence, in March 2019, Emma took the plunge and left her telecommunications job to become a full-time ‘body transformation coach.’
“Things have grown very organically through social media platforms,” she said.
“Most of the women have been inspired by my results, and the results the women on the course are getting.
“I saw a real need for a sustainable weight loss approach and that’s why my online programme delivers.”
Now fast approaching her 100th client, Emma is hoping to expand her business model and reach a wider audience.
“I’ve been given a new lease of life at 40 and my only regret is that I didn’t do something about my weight sooner,” she said.
“I know how easy it is to hide at the back of the crowd and pretend everything is ok, when inside you just want to cry.
“To anyone out there struggling with their weight that thinks they’re a lost cause – my story is proof that it’s never too late change your life.”
To follow Emma’s weight loss journey visit her Instagram at @emma.hamlin
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