Nursery worker who ate McDonald's breakfasts five times a week and drank 1,000 calories of Coke a day loses 4st after 'finally admitting she was fat'

  • Emma Sinclair, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, went from  17st 12lb to 13st 12lb
  • She was motivated to shed the pounds after a Tenerife holiday with fiancé Owen 
  • 23-year-old ate at McDonald's five days a week and gorged on unhealthy snacks
  • Now following healthy diet and exercising, and close to reaching her goal weight

A size 20 nursery nurse who gorged at McDonald's five times a week and drank nearly 1,000 calories of Coca Cola every day lost four stone in three months, after her unsightly bulges turned a dream holiday into a nightmare.

Happily engaged to her fiancé Owen Brady, 21, a warehouse operator, Emma Sinclair, 23, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear had ignored her expanding waistline.

She would sink a feast of a 1,225 calorie breakfast wrap, hash browns and a large Coke four times a week at the fast food chain, then adding a 477 calorie portion of pancakes and syrup on Sundays.

But, after comparing her bulbous body to the toned beach babes flaunting their tans during a romantic trip to Tenerife with Owen in September 2019, she declared: 'It was the worst fortnight of my life.' 

Returning home and weighing herself for the first time in years, 5ft 9in Emma was horrified when she tipped the scales at 17st 12lb. This motivated her to lost four stone in just three months, reaching 13st 12lb in January. 

Emma Sinclair, 23, from Gateshead, Tyn eand Wear, lost four stone in three months and went from weighing 17 stone 12lb to 13 stone 12lb after kicking her McDonald's addiction (pictured now)

Emma Sinclair, 23, from Gateshead, Tyn eand Wear, lost four stone in three months and went from weighing 17 stone 12lb to 13 stone 12lb after kicking her McDonald's addiction (pictured now)

Emma, pictured with her mother Kathryn, would eat McDonald's breakfasts most days before work and then go again on Sundays for another feast with her family

Emma, pictured with her mother Kathryn, would eat McDonald's breakfasts most days before work and then go again on Sundays for another feast with her family

Reliving the moment on holiday when she first realised she was 'fat,' she said: 'Something just changed, I can't describe it, but I suddenly saw myself for how I really looked.

'I think part of it is because a holiday is meant to be an escape, a place to get away from all your worries. But I couldn't do that - the problem was staring right back at me in the mirror.

'I looked fat and finally had to admit it.'

With a body mass index (BMI) – used to gauge a healthy weight – of 37 compared to the NHS recommended levels of between 18.9 and 24.5, Emma was classed as obese.

Now happy with her new frame, Emma has ditched the unhealthy snacks she would usually gorge on in favour of healthier options

Now happy with her new frame, Emma has ditched the unhealthy snacks she would usually gorge on in favour of healthier options

Emma said her weight gain sneaked on her, and she had not realised how big she had gotten (pictured)

Emma said her weight gain sneaked on her, and she had not realised how big she had gotten (pictured)

Wolfing down an estimated 4,000 calories a day - twice the NHS guide for a woman - a hefty portion of these were consumed by the time she finished breakfast in McDonald's.

Yet, Emma swears she was a slim size 10 for most of her teens, with her dress size only creeping up to a size 14 to 16 after leaving college, where she studied childcare.

'I was 19 and had been with my boyfriend for a year,' she explained. 'I started getting into some bad habits, like having takeaway in front of Netflix, that sort of thing.'

But her weight seriously spiralled out of control after she started working four days a week as a nursery nurse, in 2017.

She explained: 'The bulk of my weight gain came when I turned 21.

Emma's diet before and after losing weight 

Breakfast: McDonald's breakfast wrap, three hash browns, large Coke

Lunch: Sweet 'n sour chicken with rice

Dinner: Takeaway pizza

Snacks: White toast, sweets 

Breakfast: Boiled egg on toast

Lunch: Tomato soup

Dinner: Jane Plan beef lasagne

Snacks: Protein bar

Advertisement

'I'd just passed my driving test and got my first car, a grey Peugeot 201, and I let myself get really lazy.

'I wouldn't walk anywhere. I'd drive to the bottom of the road to the shop - even though it was only a five-minute walk.'

Driving, combined with the fact her workplace was sited next door to McDonald's - where she consumed around 6,600 calories a week - proved a lethal combination for Emma.

'I worked right next to McDonald's so every day, without fail, for four days a week I would eat a Maccie's breakfast,' she said.

'Then, on Sunday, I'd go for a McDonald's with all my family - it's a tradition of ours.'

The 23-year-old is now happy with her size, and is only a few pounds away from reaching her goal weight

The 23-year-old is now happy with her size, and is only a few pounds away from reaching her goal weight 

Emma had not realised how unhappy she had become about her weight. She said she started piling on the pounds aged 21
In addition to a healthier diet, Emma kicked her exercise regime up a knotch to meet her weights goals (pictured)

In addition to a healthier diet, Emma kicked her exercise regime up a knotch to meet her weights goals (pictured)

And her overeating did not stop with her morning trip to McDonald's.

Emma then tucked into large portions of comfort food, like sweet and sour chicken, potato wedges and trifle, at work.

Barely ever drinking water, instead, she drank around 2.25 litres of Coke every day - ingesting 6,615 calories a week from the fizzy drink alone.

'I was obsessed with fizzy pop,' she recalled. 'I'd specifically go to Iceland to buy their extra-large 2.25 litre bottles.

'It's hard to imagine now, but I just brushed it under the carpet. I remember spotting my first stretch mark in the bathroom one day and I just pretended I hadn't seen it.

'None of my friends mentioned anything. Sometimes my family would, but they'd always do it so kindly I wouldn't think anything of it.'

Barely ever drinking water, instead, Emma drank around 2.25 litres of full fat coke every day - ingesting 6,615 calories a week from the fizzy drink alone (pictured before)

Barely ever drinking water, instead, Emma drank around 2.25 litres of full fat coke every day - ingesting 6,615 calories a week from the fizzy drink alone (pictured before)

Emma had planned a family holiday in Barbados, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and the UK lockdown

Emma had planned a family holiday in Barbados, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and the UK lockdown 

And when she began shopping for her trip to Tenerife, she thought nothing of filling her suitcase with new size 20 clothes, claiming that when she looked in the mirror she did not see a large lady looking back.

So, when she saw her bulges as others did for the first time on holiday, she had a horrible shock.

'I got to the apartment and tried my clothes on that first night and wanted to cry," she confessed.

Waking up every night in floods of tears for the rest of the trip, Emma said it was the 'worst fortnight,' of her life.

Dumping her holiday gear in the bin before the flight home on October 1, landing back in the UK, she was finally determined to fight her flab.

She said: 'I suddenly realised I was so overweight I struggled to sit down with the children on the floor like all the other nursery workers and wondered what the parents thought of me.

'Someone my age who was too big to kneel down with the kids was just embarrassing.'

Over the Christmas period, Emma was already undergoing her body transformation and felt more confident in her clothes

Over the Christmas period, Emma was already undergoing her body transformation and felt more confident in her clothes 

Pictured with Owen. The 23-year-old said she chucked all her size 20 holiday wear in the bin before coming back to the UK after their Tenerife getaway

Pictured with Owen. The 23-year-old said she chucked all her size 20 holiday wear in the bin before coming back to the UK after their Tenerife getaway 

So, by the end of the month, a day after turning 23, on October 31, Emma started the Jane Plan diet.

Receiving a weekly package, containing 21 pre-prepared meals and seven snacks, Emma adopted a strict 1,200 calories a day regime.

Kickstarting her day with boiled eggs on toast for breakfast, then having soup for lunch and a homemade stir fry for dinner, Emma lost 12lb in her first week.

'On the first day of the plan I turned down lunch at work and realised it was the first time I'd said no to food in as long as I could remember,' she said.

'From there, I was on the home stretch.'

Hitting 13st 12lb by January 16, Emma was desperate to show off her new figure on the trip of a lifetime to Barbados, with her family, but sadly the trip planned for March was cancelled because of Covid-19.

Now: From a size 20 to a size 12. Emma said she would wake up in the middle of the night in flood of tears because of her weight

Now: From a size 20 to a size 12. Emma said she would wake up in the middle of the night in flood of tears because of her weight  

And Emma, whose BMI is now 28.7 - with a few points to go before she reaches the NHS recommended range - is delighted with her achievement

And Emma, whose BMI is now 28.7 - with a few points to go before she reaches the NHS recommended range - is delighted with her achievement

But, taking advantage of the glorious spring weather, she showcased her size 12 wardrobe at home instead.

She said: 'I've been wearing all my holiday gear in the garden and about the house. It might not be as hot as the Caribbean but it's been lovely weather.'

'I'd bought a whole new wardrobe that I couldn't wait to wear, as everything was a size 12.'

And Emma, whose BMI is now 28.7 - with a few points to go before she reaches the NHS recommended range - is delighted with her achievement.

She said: 'I feel like a completely different person - I don't think I've ever worn shorts in the UK and now I can't take them off.'

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.