A new slender look for Jess

Mother-of-one Jess Coates ‘ballooned’ to a size 20 after she became pregnant at the age of 19, and after giving birth she struggled to lose weight.

She was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – a condition that affects how women’s ovaries work and makes it easy to gain weight.

After going on holiday to America in 2016 and looking back at holiday pictures she decided it was time slim down and launched into an exercise regime at a Mansfield gym, after discovering she was too heavy to participate in a pole dancing class she had joined.

The 27-year-old, who lives with her husband and son, now aged seven, said: “I quickly became self-conscious about my size and when I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I would struggle to lose weight I instantly thought I couldn’t do it.

“I weighed 16st 12.5lbs and I was really unhappy when I looked at my holiday photos and I just decided enough is enough.

“I had also joined a burlesque class in August 2016 and as we dance in yearly shows I wanted to lose weight to feel more confident on stage.”

Jess also began eating healthier and kicked the takeaway and fast-food diet.

“I used to eat a lot of processed foods but now I make all my meals from scratch, eat smaller portions and even make my own sauces.

“Me and my husband also used to have takeaways regularly during the week but now we only have them at weekends.”

Jess joined the Xercise4Less gym in Old Mill Lane, Mansfield Woodhouse and says she now wants to work on her body tone.

She added: “I was very nervous before my first show but after that I just wanted to do it again.

“When you’re on stage it makes you feel confident, sexy, empowered, it’s like you’re a different person when you’re up there.”