Mum who struggled with weight after miscarriage, mother’s death and partner’s leukaemia diagnosis has lost eight stone

A mum whose weight repeatedly fluctuated up to 19 stone as she comfort ate after traumatic events including her mother’s death and an “awful” miscarriage has lost eight stone and plans to keep it off.

Laura Finlow, 42, a stay-at-home mum from Milton Keynes, began piling on the pounds after her mum, Janice, died of lung cancer in 2013 at the age of 57, and Laura’s now-husband, James, 38, a civil servant, was diagnosed with leukaemia in the same week.

Weighing around 15 stone at the time, stress and grief led 5ft 3in Laura to “comfort eat” for years until she reached 19st and 5lb (123kg) in 2017, before she began eating a calorie-restricted diet of pre-prepared meals and meal replacement snacks.

The mum of five to Eloise, 24, Harley, 20, Isobel, five, Edward, four, and Amelia, 19 months, lost eight stone in eight months and felt “fabulous” – but decided to pause the diet after suffering issues with her gallbladder.

By 2020, after having two children with James, she weighed 18st 7lb (124kg), so did the same diet again, getting down to 11st 12lb by April 2021 – but, in December 2021, she had a miscarriage, so decided to pause the diet to focus on grieving her loss.

She was “traumatised” by her experience at Milton Keynes Hospital where she claims she waited six hours for scheduled surgery, was put into the men’s locker room for another two hours, and, after the procedure, was made to sit in a room surrounded by new mums and babies.

Laura resumed the diet in September 2023 and now, weighing 10st 7lb (67kg), can “run around” with her children.

Laura told PA Real Life: “I just woke up and thought, ‘What am I doing? What if something happens to me? I can’t leave my kids behind. I need to sort myself out.’

“I thought I looked horrendous – the size of a house, I couldn’t believe how big I was.

“I need to keep the weight off – I’ve got five kids and a grandchild and I need to be there for them.

“I don’t want to go back to the person I was, it was no life.”

After Laura’s divorce in 2007, she and her two eldest children, Eloise and Harley, moved into her mother Janice’s house.

In 2010, Janice was diagnosed with lung cancer and Laura became her full-time carer.

Three years later, Laura’s now-husband, James, was diagnosed with leukaemia, and a week later, Janice died at 57.

On top of losing her “best friend”, Laura had to find a full-time job quickly, as she would no longer receive carer’s allowance and needed to help her brother, who owned their mother’s house, keep up with mortgage payments.

Luckily, within a few weeks, Laura secured a job in a shopping centre, selling Hilary’s Blinds, but the stress of her mother’s death led her to “comfort eat”.

Laura said: “It was really, really hard, because you’re still grieving and you’re still trying to raise your children, and then I had to throw myself back into a workplace and deal with people on a daily basis, and you just want to sort of shut yourself off to the world and cry.”

She visited cafes on her lunch breaks, not realising how many calories were in the sandwiches and cakes, and relied on sugary energy drinks after sleepless nights.

Laura tried to quit smoking, as promised to her mother on “her death bed”, but found herself snacking instead, which further contributed to her weight gain.

By 2017, Laura weighed around 19st 5lb, and after seeing an unflattering photo of herself, she decided to make a change.

In May 2017, she started the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, which involves eating a calorie-restricted diet of pre-prepared meals and meal replacement snacks.

Within eight months, Laura had lost eight stone and felt “fabulous”, even fitting both legs into one leg of her old trousers.

She said: “I had to keep buying smaller clothes, I could hardly keep up with it, when I saw the numbers on the scale go down, I had to check that it was right.”

In April 2018, she and James got engaged, and two months later, she became pregnant with their first child. Her doctors said her weight loss had boosted her chances of conceiving.

However, in June 2018, Laura began experiencing gallbladder pain and decided to stop the 1:1 diet, a decision she later regretted.

Five months after giving birth to Isobel in 2019, Laura became pregnant again with Edward.

“I wasn’t watching (my diet) at all… so my weight slowly started to creep back up,” Laura explained.

Laura did the diet again in July 2020, dropping from 18st 7lb to 11st 12lb by April 2021.

In 2021, she fell pregnant again, but in November she began bleeding, and in December doctors told her she had miscarried at around seven weeks.

Laura claims staff at Milton Keynes Hospital initially informed her she could take tablets to pass the baby at home, which made her feel reassured.

However, when she returned to the hospital a week later, she recalls doctors telling her the tablets were no longer an option due to the risks associated with her previous multiple Caesarean sections.

As a result, Laura had to wait until December 31 for surgery as the baby had not passed at home.

Arriving at the hospital for her surgery, she claims she had to wait in the waiting room for six hours, before the staff moved her to the men’s locker room.

She claims that while in the locker room for several more hours, she was asked not to change for surgery as someone might walk in, but when it was finally time for her procedure, the staff “had a go at her” for not being ready.

After the procedure, she recalls being put into a recovery room surrounded by new mums holding babies – before staff eventually moved her into a ward.

She said: “I was inconsolable because I’d just gone through hell and it was totally destroying me, it was horrendous.

“What an awful way to start the new year – I couldn’t cope and was depressed.”

During this traumatic period, Laura stepped away from the 1:1 diet.

However, by September 2023, weighing 19st again and with a waist size of 49.5in, she resumed the plan, and she now weighs 10st 7lb with a 31.5in waist.

“I put a pair of jeans on for the first time in years and a size 14 was big – I haven’t even worn jeans in years and now I feel more confident,” she said.

Laura is now in the maintenance phase of her diet and feels confident she won’t return to her old habits.

“You never realise how big you are until you lose the weight and I’m so glad I have – I can run around with the kids now, it’s amazing,” Laura explained.

Fiona Hoskins, chief nursing officer at Milton Keynes University Hospital, said: “The care and treatment that Ms Finlow has described does not meet our usual standards and on behalf of the hospital, I would like to apologise for the distress that Ms Finlow and her family have experienced.

“I would encourage Ms Finlow, if she feels comfortable to discuss her experiences, to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) so that her concerns can be investigated further.”

For more information, visit: www.one2onediet.com.