'I used Facebook to help me lose weight' - Woman drops from size 32 to 16 with a little help from her friends

When Emma Baldwin, 28, was tagged in a photo online, it spurred her on to confess her secret eating habits – and change her life......

Emma, now a size 16, saw her saggy skin as part of her journey

We use Facebook to keep up with friends and family, announce wedding or baby news, and even post funny pictures of cats: but one woman found it was the driving force behind her 9st 6lb weight loss.

Train driver Emma Baldwin, from Hertfordshire, had struggled with her weight since she passed her driving test at 17.

"I’d always been a chubby kid," she reveals, "smuggling sweets and chocolate bars to school. But now I was free to eat whatever I liked in my car; no one would know."

Her weight crept up over the next few years until she was a size 32 and weighed 23st.

Her size really hit home on a working trip to Cuba, when a colleague added pictures of her to Facebook. She was horrified by the way she looked.

"I immediately untagged myself," says Emma. "Now there was evidence online of how big I’d become."

So in July 2010, Emma went to her doctor to discuss starting an extreme low-calorie diet, but the doctor refused.

"She said I wouldn’t be addressing my issues with food and that extreme diets were like gastric bands – they took away the fat, but not the underlying problem."

Hearing the words ‘gastric band’ scared Emma.

She says, "I knew I had to make some big changes to my lifestyle. No one knew how unhappy I really was. I was eating in my car and hiding wrappers in car park bins. It was time to tell people the truth."

Emma’s weight loss journey

23-stone Emma was horrified when she saw pictures of herself on Facebook

August 2010

Nervously, Emma joined a gym near her home. Stepping on the scales, she was 23st.

"It was a shock," she remembers. "I hadn’t weighed myself in years. I knew I had to be accountable for my actions from that moment. So I logged onto Facebook and wrote a status update – “I’m 23st. Slightly on the larger side! I’ve set myself the challenge to lose weight and I’ll be updating you regularly on my progress.”’

Attaching a photograph of the printout from the gym scales, Emma clicked ‘post’.

"I expected people to tell me I was fat and disgusting," she explains, "because that’s what I thought about myself. But the comments were so supportive. Friends and family assured me I could lose weight with their support."

Emma knew she had a long journey ahead, but with the encouragement of her 650 Facebook friends, she felt determined.

March 2011

Emma started photographing her dinner and sharing the pictures online.

"My meal choices had become so healthy, I wanted to show them off.
With slow-roast chicken, cottage cheese, peas and avocado, I’d come a long way from secret takeaways in my car."

July 2011

Emma’s average daily calorie consumption had dropped from 10,000 to just 1,500. The weight was coming off and she’d never felt better.

"It started to scare me to think how much I had been consuming when I was 23st. No wonder I had no energy, was breathless and sweaty.

"I’d start the day with a double sausage egg muffin and a pancake with sausages and two hash browns. Throughout the day I’d have a giant chocolate bar, a pasta salad, profiteroles, crisps, slices of chocolate cake, Indian takeaway and more chocolate bars, as well as 12 mini cakes.

"I ate because I felt guilty and I felt guilty because I ate. But I was all alone. Once I’d made my public declaration, I didn’t feel alone. I felt like I had a team of 650 people cheering me on!"

Emma now started the day with a bowl of All-Bran with skimmed milk, flaked almonds and raisins.

For lunch, she’d have a jacket potato with beans and salad. Dinner was salmon or chicken, with peas and avocado, and snacks were mixed nuts or oatcakes.

September 2011

Slowly and sensibly, Emma was transforming. She’ll never forget the moment she made a landmark purchase.

"I wrote on Facebook, “I’d like to introduce you to... size 18 SKINNY jeans!”. 21 friends hit “Like” and I loved reading 17 encouraging, lovely comments."

One friend wrote, "You really are an advert for hard work paying dividends," while another said, "You are looking so good Emma. An inspiration to so many of us."

With Facebook as a lifeline, Emma felt spurred on.

‘Every week, I wanted results because I wanted to show my friends and family the new me. I knew that if I went quiet, people might think I was back to my old ways – it was an incentive to keep going."

January 2012

By now, healthy eating was a way of life. Emma had started enjoying spin, body pump and body combat classes five times a week. But as the weight dropped off, Emma faced a new problem.

"Saggy skin was not something I’d bargained for, but it’s a side-effect of extreme weight gain, then loss. My belly looked like a mushroom. It’s not pretty, but it’s part of my journey, so I shared those pictures on Facebook too."

Emma's Facebook friends helped to encourage her

Unable to qualify for what the NHS deem ‘cosmetic’ surgery, Emma looked into the cost of going private, but found the average £7,000 too steep.

"There was no way I could afford it. A friend suggested Secret Surgery, a company specialising in cheaper surgery abroad. It was half the price, at £3,500 for a tummy tuck."

Sceptical of surgery abroad, Emma went to meet other patients at a support meeting in Kent.

"I met so many other patients who had incredible, neat scars, and nothing but praise for the hospital in Poland. But most importantly of all, they were all so happy!|

Emma quickly booked her own tummy tuck.

June 2014

At her target weight of 15 stone, two years later, Emma flew to Poland with her mum. After spending 11 days in hospital, she returned home knowing she was edging closer to the body of her dreams.

November 2015

Now a stunning size 16, Emma threw away nearly all of her size 32 clothes. She says, "I kept one size XXXL shirt that used to be tight and is now a baggy night dress. I still carry around the picture of me on the beach in Cuba. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come."

April 2016

"I moved into my own place last year and it was a real turning point for me. I could secretly eat whatever I wanted, but I didn’t. I have a box of chocolates in the cupboard in case a visitor pops in – but it’s still sealed.

"My car is no longer the place where I feast. Instead, my gym kit lives in the boot and I have healthy snacks in the glove box. All thanks to my Facebook diet and every single one of my friends believing in me."