Sarah Jones hit more than 18 stone before her husband James, a personal trainer, told her she needed to lose weight. Instead of feeling attacked, she thanks him for looking out for her
A size 24 marketing manager feared her hubby no longer loved her when he ‘told her to lose weight’ – but credits his demand for losing 7st. Sarah Jones said she’d always been ‘chubby’ in school, with 5ft 2in Sarah tipping the scales at 17st 7lbs as a teenager.
The 31-year-old met her husband, James Jones, who works as a personal trainer, in 2018 and got married at the beginning of 2020.
Sarah said she managed to drop 4st before her wedding by hitting the gym and eating in a calorie deficit, but during lockdown piled the weight back on and ended up at 18 st 7lbs.
She would regularly scoff takeaways for dinner including McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s – devouring an entire pizza, two sides and a tub of ice cream by herself.
In 2024, James told Sarah she needed to lose weight for her health and so the couple could ‘grow old’ together. Sarah said James helped her to ‘lock in’, even skipping his own training to coach her at the gym, helping her get down to 11st 7lbs.
Now a slinky size 10, Sarah said she couldn’t have done it without her husband’s love and support. She shared a clip on TikTok in which the opening line declared ‘My husband told me to lose weight’.
Sarah admits her first reaction was ‘oh my gosh you think I’m fat and don’t love me anymore’. But went on to explain that ‘before you tell me to divorce him’, his comments ‘came from a place of love’.
While she admits people could see James’ behaviour as ‘controlling’, Sarah says it came from a place of concern over her health and that he’d said he was still attracted to her.
Sarah, from Coventry, West Midlands, said: “I was always the chubby kid in school and was diagnosed with PMOS [Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome] when I was 15.
“They put me on the pill and that made me put on even more weight. I met James and he is a qualified PT. I said I wanted to get in the gym but didn’t know where to start or what to do.
“He really encouraged me and I lost 4st just before we got married at the beginning of 2020. I ended up losing my job when we went to lockdown and it wasn’t a good time mentally for me at all.
“The gym was closed and I ended up putting all the weight back on and more. After restrictions were lifted, we got back to the gym but I wasn’t really putting my all into it.
“James said, ‘let’s lock in and do this.’ It took me about a year to lose 7st and I’ve been maintaining it since. I want to lose 5kg but I’m happy where I’m at.
“I was on a calorie deficit, counting everything, but still allowing myself to have treats. There were a lot of takeaways before, we love McDonald’s and KFC, which obviously have a lot of calories in them.
“The Domino’s I used to eat was disgusting. I would have a whole pizza, two sides, a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.”
Sarah said she’s now more confident in her skin and is still shocked when she sees herself in photos and says people shouldn’t make assumptions about James’ intentions as they don’t know ‘the full story’.
Sarah said: “It changed my life, I feel so much more confident in my own skin. I look at photos now and think, ‘is that me?’ Because I used to avoid taking pictures.
“James made a plan for me, came along with me, he gave up his own training routine just to help train me.
“He would celebrate the small milestones and support me with everything. He’s been very patient.
“He said ‘I don’t want to outlive you but the way you are going at the minute you might not get to 60 because obesity is a massive killer’.
“I knew it came from a place of him wanting me to be around and for us to grow old together. It wasn’t a case of ‘you’re ugly and I don’t like you anymore so you need to lose weight otherwise I’m going to leave you’.
“It was coming from a loving place. It’s easy to make assumptions when you don’t know the full story. People out there are in relationships where it is very controlling.
“If you don’t know the full story, maybe don’t comment on it. He wanted me to grow old with me, which is quite cute. It’s not a controlling thing at all.
“I used to be out of breath going up the stairs and now I go on the Stairmaster at the gym. I could never cross my legs when I sat down, it feels different now.”
Now, Sarah is urging others to move their body and invest in themselves.
Sarah said: “It feels like I’m living now while before I was just existing. I don’t think I could do it without James. I thought I was meant to be a bigger person, James was a massive blessing. He saw the potential in me.
“The biggest investment you can make is investing in your life. Find something you enjoy doing in order to move your body.”
James, 31, said: “When I met her, I was blown away by her personality. As she started to open up mentally and physically, I thought ‘this doesn’t seem healthy’.
“I wanted to reframe this negative mindset and wanted her to see her potential. I tried to encourage her to see there are benefits to this and that I’m here to support her. It was about showing the potential that led to the process.”
SARAH’S FOOD DIARY BEFORE WEIGHT LOSS:
Breakfast: Three to four slices of white bread with lots of butter and marmite.
Lunch: Two meal deals including crisps, chocolate and full-fat fizzy drinks.
Dinner: Takeaways (McDonald’s, KFC, Domino’s).
Snacks: Chocolate bars, crisps.
SARAH’S FOOD DIARY AFTER WEIGHT LOSS
Breakfast: Yoghurt with granola.
Lunch: Chicken salad.
Dinner: Home-cooked meal with protein and veg.
Snacks: Popcorn, Pepsi Max.