Charmaine Brooks, a 36-year-old woman from Southampton, England, delayed her wedding for 18 years to focus on weight loss and look her best on her big day.
Charmaine met her partner, Darren Squires, when she was only 17 years old. The couple has two children together, Nathan, aged 16, and Aimee, aged 15. When Nathan was born, Darren proposed to Charmaine, but she had already planned to lose weight before the wedding.
Unfortunately, Charmaine fell pregnant with Aimee before she could achieve her weight loss goals. Additionally, her children faced various challenges during their school years, which required her to focus on caring for her family. This led to Charmaine giving up her beloved job and struggling with depression, which further delayed her wedding with Darren.
To cope with the stress, Charmaine turned to sweets and junk food, consuming up to 14 chocolate bars a day. At her heaviest, Charmaine weighed 120kg and spent a whopping 3,500 pounds (over 104 million dong) on 4,000 chocolate bars a year.
One day, while looking back at holiday photos, Charmaine realized she no longer recognized herself and could not accept her own appearance, let alone being the center of attention at her wedding. She was determined to lose weight and improve her body shape.
Charmaine’s hard work and determination paid off, and she successfully shed a significant amount of weight, slimming down from over 100kg to just 64kg. She is now more confident and enjoys shopping for clothes, especially her wedding dress.
Finally, after 18 years of waiting, Charmaine and Darren’s wedding is set to take place in March of next year, with 100 guests in attendance.
Charmaine’s story is one of dedication and perseverance. Despite the challenges she faced, she never gave up on her dream of looking her best on her wedding day. Her journey serves as an inspiration to anyone struggling with weight loss or other personal challenges.