GROWING up Lizzie Cooper knew she was never the slimmest girl at school, but throwing herself into her work and enjoying life, she put thoughts of her own health onto the back burner.
Just before the pandemic struck, the single care assistant thought she’s struck gold when she successfully ‘swiped right’ on Tinder with 6’4” rugby ace Ollie.
Matt BarbourLizzie Cooper and her husband Ollie redid their wedding photos after losing 13st together[/caption]
Matt BarbourLizzie inspired Ollie to join her on the weight-loss journey after she initially lost 3st[/caption]
The pair soon moved in together – but just months later Lizzie’s life was turned upside down when her mum was given a shock terminal cancer diagnosis.
Exchanging vows with Ollie next to her mum’s hospital bed just days before she passed, Lizzie’s crushing grief caused her to turn to food for comfort, living off takeaways and comfort food.
Piling on five stones, when the couple tried and failed to have a baby, Lizzie knew exactly where the problem was – and vowed to change.
Now over seven stones lighter, she even inspired Ollie to follow her lead – in less than nine months the couple have lost a whopping 13 stones together, more than what Lizzie weighs now.
Lizzie, 28, from Tewksbury, said: “I guess I was always a bit overweight as a girl, but really didn’t have any issues with food – I had great friends, and a loving family, especially my mum, Sue, who was like my best friend.
“Whenever I told mum I had to lose weight, she’d tell me to stop being silly, and give me a massive hug. Whenever I felt down, or anxious, she was there for me, my rock.
“I dropped out of college at 17, realising academic stuff wasn’t really for me, and enrolled in an apprenticeship in customer service, which I loved.
“I’ve always had a really strong work ethic, and soon found I was climbing the career ladder at speed.”
Lizzie said she prioritised her career over her love life and had only had a few short relationships, but nothing serious.
She said: “It was when I was managing a café in 2019 that I first saw Ollie and instantly was smitten – he was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome, and I’d rush to serve him when he came in for a coffee.
“Tewksbury’s a small place, so I soon found out he’d played rugby for the under-18s England team and was playing semi-professionally by then – I then realised he was way out of my league, and admired him from afar, never having the guts to ask him out!
“When the pandemic kicked in and I was stuck at home on my phone, I looked on Tinder, and there he was! I swiped right, praying he’d reciprocate…and we started chatting!
“He didn’t remember me from the café, but I confessed I’d seen him coming in.”
Whirlwind romance
The couple got to know each other through regular chats and video calls and when the lockdown was eased, they started going for long walks together in the fields surrounding Tewksbury.
Lizzie said: “Then I was around 13 stones, and while I wasn’t the slimmest woman on the block, Ollie constantly told me how beautiful I was.
“It became a whirlwind romance, and in August 2020 we moved into a rented house together – Ollie has a young daughter called Evie from his first marriage, and I loved seeing how gently and kind he was with her.
Getting home, I hit rock bottom. I was 18 stone, and couldn’t get off the sofa or tie my own shoelaces
Lizzie Cooper
“When I introduced Ollie to my mum, she couldn’t have been happier for me. I really felt I’d found ‘the one’!
“But just two months later, out of the blue, we got the bombshell news mum had advanced pancreatic cancer – she was only 61, and it just seemed so unfair for a woman who was so healthy to told she had just months left.”
Lizzie “clung on to the hope” that the gruelling pancreatic cancer treatment her mum was undergoing would save her, but “we all knew what was on the cards”, she said.
She said: “Crying on Ollie’s shoulder at home every night, it was then that I first turned to food as a comfort – another lockdown was in place, and without any other distractions, eating became my emotional crutch.
“Ollie had been used to eating whatever he wanted and never putting on weight because he’d done so much exercise, but a combination of an ankle injury and being stuck at home or working silly hours as a delivery driver meant even he started to put on weight.
“So, when we started living off takeaways, it was no surprise the weight piled on – I’d eat the remains of last night’s takeaway for breakfast, countless chocolate bars washed down with litres of Pepsi Max through the day, massive McDonald’s from the local drive through, then fish and chips or a Chinese at night.
“Even though I could feel my clothes getting tighter as I expanded, I really didn’t car about anything other than my mum, who was slipping away.”
I wouldn’t get naked in front of Ollie with the lights on and struggled to get up the stairs
Lizzie Cooper
By the spring of 2021, Lizzie said “it was obvious mum only had weeks left”, so she and Ollie agreed they wanted to give her the best day of her life before they said goodbye and got engaged.
She said: “With just 24 hours to organise it, on May 1, we had a blessing by her hospital bed, me in my sister-in-law’s old wedding dress and Ollie’s reverend step-dad overseeing things.
“The nurses did mum’s hair and make-up and we saw her smile for the first time in months. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
“Then transferred to a hospice, just two days later mum passed away. I felt like my heart had been ripped out, and started eating for Britain, constantly bloated and miserable.
“Ollie and I had our formal wedding at the Old Down Estate near Bristol that July, which was obviously a very bitter-sweet affair without mum, but at least we had each other.”
Hitting ‘rock bottom’
That autumn, she and Ollie decided to try to have their own family.
Lizzie said: “Evie is lovely, but I wanted to be a mum, and Ollie got that.
“By then I was about 16 stones and had developed polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) so knew it wouldn’t be plain sailing.
“Without any luck, in early 2022 we paid privately for tests which confirmed the odds were against us – IVF would cost us thousands, but with my BMI at over 40, even that was a long shot.
“Last summer Ollie and I finally had our honeymoon to the Seychelles and Dubai, delayed because of the pandemic, and I have to say it was hell. I just felt so fat and hot, with zero confidence.
“I was supposed to be the beaming new bride, but I felt the opposite.
“Getting home, I hit rock bottom. I was 18 stone, and couldn’t get off the sofa or tie my own shoelaces. “
What was Lizzie’s diet before and after her drastic weight loss?
Before
Breakfast: Leftover takeaways from the night before
Snack: Three chocolate bars – always a Wispa Gold, Twirl and Dairy Milk Caramel
Lunch: Meal Deal, with extra crisps and chocolate
Dinner: McDonald’s drive through – large chilli chicken wrap meal, another wrap and 20 chicken nuggets
Later: Chicken fried rice with Ollie, more chocolate
Drinks: 2-3 litres of Pepsi Max a day
After
Breakfast: Mixed berry shake and go
Lunch: Tuna salad
Snack: Salted caramel bites
Dinner: Fake away – teriyaki chicken cooked with air fryer, with cauliflower rice and veg
Drinks: 3 litres of water
She added: “I wouldn’t get naked in front of Ollie with the lights on and struggled to get up the stairs.
“I kept finding old chocolate wrappers around the house I’d hidden from Ollie, and thought how had it got to this?
“I was hiding my secret binges from my husband, and trying to bring a new life into the world when I couldn’t look after the one I had!
“I just knew how disappointed my mum would be if she could see me, just 27 and a fat, useless blob.”
Diet overhaul
Lizzie said she knew she needed a mental reboot, looked online and came across the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan – “basically nutritious but low-calorie meal replacement products”.
She said: “I knew I had a lot of weight to lose, and needed to see quick results. I met my coach, Vickie Hagan, one morning in September, and she gave me the confidence I needed to do this.
“Overnight I went from around 4,000 calories to just 800, four meal replacement packs and loads of water.
“It was really tough to start, but soon I was bouncing with energy – especially when I saw I’d lost 12lbs in the first week. Shrinking in front of Ollie and Evie, I even lost 4lbs over the Christmas week.
“By January 1, I’d lost over 3 stones, then Ollie confessed he wanted to give it a go too – he hated the idea of ‘diets’ and I promised not to tell anyone.”
Power of moving
With Vickie’s support, soon they were both on plan, with Ollie losing 15lbs in the first week.
She said: “His starting point was 23 stones, so he had quite a way to go.
“Evie kept showering him with compliments, asking where her old dad had gone.
“I’m now down to less than 11st, a slinky size 10, and Ollie’s down to 17st.
“My BMI’s down to just 23.7 now and my PCOS symptoms are so much better and we’re now on the NHS waiting list for fertility treatment.
“But whatever happens on that front, we’re so much happier now, half the couple we were in just a few months.
“And I’m exercising for the first time in my life. I’m doing a 62-charity walk in September for McMillan in memory of my mum, currently nailing 20-mile training walks.
“To think that this time last year I couldn’t climb the stairs. I know mum would be so proud if she could see me now.”
Ollie and Lizzie went on honeymoon in Dubai (pictured) and the Seychelles
She and had their formal wedding at the Old Down Estate near Bristol in July