‘I lost seven stone and married my knight in shining armour’

A bride who considered using a mobility scooter at her heaviest has shed nine stone to walk down the aisle to marry her ‘knight in shining armour’.

Karena Beddall, 49, weighed 22 stone 7lbs and wore a 30 dress size before she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her third pregnancy.

Living in leggings, Karena, from Stevenage, Herts, was shocked when her nan died from a diabetic-related illness and vowed to change her own future.

Once her baby was born in 2013, she shed ten stone through Slimming World but piled the weight back on after her marriage ended.

However, upon meeting now-husband Craig Beddall during lockdown, Karena decided she did not want to be the ‘fat bride’ again and now weighs 13 stone 3lbs.

The mother-of-three said: “It was an amazing feeling being able to wear the size 12 dress. I still look at myself and think ‘how did I do that?’.

“When Craig proposed I thought ‘this needs to get real’. I didn’t want to be a fat bride again.

“In the life I had before, I can remember a time where I legitimately looked up if I was eligible for a mobility scooter. My back and knees were bad.

“I was so big that it was a struggle walking. Now I don’t have that pain.”

When Karena, who is 6’2, was diagnosed with gestational diabetes while pregnant with her third child, it became an insight into what her life could end up like.

The inclusion assistant who works in special educational needs said: “It was a case of having to inject myself daily and taking medication on time.

“I was having to pinprick my finger every morning and really carefully control my diet.

“I was being told ‘You are going to affect your baby if you don’t control your weight’ and of course my baby is the world to me so I did what I had to do.

“My nan dying from a diabetes related illness propelled me into thinking about my future.”

Karena’s underactive thyroid became overactive after her pregnancy and until her medication was stabilised, she lost three stone from the change in her metabolism.

She said: “Before that I had tried every group and method to lose weight, including hypnotherapy.

“I could always get to three stone but then it was like a mental block. I couldn’t sustain it.”

Karena joined Slimming World, shedding a further seven stone after learning new habits to eat healthier, but in 2018 left the group after separating from her then-husband.

She said: “I had some counselling and I was struggling with feelings of knowing that my marriage was breaking down and subsequently we did separate.

“I did use food as a way to cope with my emotions and was advised by counsellor to not participate in diet clubs and so I lost that support.

“I needed to be answerable to myself each week when I stepped on those scales.

“I was trying to cope with having three children, realising the marriage was over and needing to console myself with that situation.

“I had binged my way through my feelings of navigating life as a single mum.”

During lockdown, Karena met Craig Beddall on a dating site and the pair met up for their first date – a socially distanced walk.

She describes her now-husband as her ‘knight in shining armour’.

Karena explained: “All my life I’ve been looking for somebody who makes me feel whole.

“I’ve been in relationships but I can honestly say I’d never been in love. He saved me – it took me until I was in my 40s to find what I’d been searching for my whole life.

“Having someone love me made me realise I was worth something, and when he asked me to marry him in 2022 I knew I didn’t want to be a fat bride again.”

Karena re-joined Slimming World, and used their Food Optimising plan to lose six stone – walking down the aisle in a size 12 dress in the summer.

She said: “I felt like everyone knew me as the girl who lost all the weight and then put it back on again.

“On the day of my first wedding, my-sister-in-law almost couldn’t get my dress up. I couldn’t eat my dinner because it was too tight.

“I couldn’t look like who I wanted to on my perfect day.

“With that motivation in mind, I set about doing losing the weight again. It has been challenging and I’ve wanted to give up at times.

“But I know if I don’t go that I will put that weight back on. I need that group to put me on the straight and narrow.”

Karena celebrated her wedding at a registry office in the UK and then partied with her friends and children in Greece for a second ceremony.

She had initially bought her wedding dress in a size 16 but her seamstress had to alter it so much at her fittings, it became a size 12.

Karena is now determined to reach her seven stone target before Christmas and began her first session as a Slimming World consultant last week.

She exercises using Slimming World’s ‘Body Magic’ programme, including undertaking tap dance and Zumba.

On her advice for others, Karena said: “You’ve always got to keep a focus on what is your ‘why’ – why do you want to do this.

“If your ‘why’ isn’t strong enough then you won’t have the motivation. Attending a group where you will get that support and encouragement.”

DIET BEFORE

Breakfast: Crunchy nut cornflakes, toast

Lunch: cheese sandwich, crisps, cake

Tea: chicken, cheesy chips or Chinese takeaway

Snacks between meals: crisps, chocolate

DIET NOW

Breakfast: fruit and yoghurt (banana, apple, strawberries, raspberries and cherries)

Lunch: protein bagel with turkey rashers and a fried egg

Tea: Slimming World friendly meal – chicken, rice and broccoli (no fats, oils or cheese)

No snacks