Liverpool solicitor lost almost six stones because she didn’t want to be the ‘huge’ mother of the bride

A Liverpool solicitor has lost almost six stones so she doesn’t embarrass her daughter at her wedding!

Hazel Bacon was delighted when eldest daughter Holly announced she was getting married to girlfriend Ellie next year…

But she dreaded the thought of the pictures she’d have to pose for.

She said:

“Ellie is a lovely girl, and her mum is beautiful too … and I didn’t want to be the fat mother-of-the-bride on the photos,”

“I’d wanted to lose weight for a long time, and the news gave me the kick up the backside I needed.”

“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. I’ve lost almost six stones and gone from a size 24 to a 14.

“Now I won’t feel I need to hide away. I can smile, enjoy the day, and just be happy for Holly.”

Hazel, 58, a family law solicitor from Huyton, had never had a problem with her weight growing up, but saw it spiralling after having children: as well as 24-year-old Holly, she has another daughter Poppy, 22, and a son, Christopher, 35.

She says:

“I had children quite young and I was with the kids’ dad but he didn’t have a job at first so it meant I was a new mum, supporting him and our family and, as a newly-qualified solicitor, I wasn’t earning much.

“Money was tight so I bought frozen crispy pancakes and sausage rolls, all those filled pastry things, and the weight just went on.”

Hazel’s weight rose to 17st 5lb, heavy even for her 5ft 10in frame, and she cringes at the diet that did it.

Breakfast was often four slices of heavily buttered white toast with jam or Nutella, and lunch might be Greggs’ pasties or sausage rolls, or a tuna and salad baguette with mayonnaise – always with a bag of crisps and a bar of chocolate.

“My evening meal would be a pie and mash with lots of butter, or a battered fish with chips, or pizza.”

She’d often open a bottle of wine and a family-size bag of crisps later on and polish both off, and she loved cakes and sweets: “I could eat a whole bag of chocolate peanuts on the drive home from work.

“I did want to lose the weight,” says Hazel. “But there was always a reason to put it off.”

News of Holly’s wedding changed everything.

“I didn’t want to be the huge, overweight mother of the bride who spoiled the photos, or who spent her time trying to hide in them.

“More than anything I didn’t want to show Holly up.”

Hazel joined Slimming World in May last year and has lost 5st 11lbs to reach 11st 8lbs.

With 6am starts for work, Hazel doesn’t always have breakfast, but she’s mindful of what she’s eating.

Lunch will be a baked potato with tuna and salad, and her evening meal might be spaghetti bolognese or chilli, all cooked from scratch.

“I love things like the homemade Slimming World pizzas made with a wholemeal wrap and cheese from my Health Extras allowance too which I have with spicy air-fried crispy potatoes and salad.

“And I really like plain yoghurt with loads of fruit, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, and cereal. I have that as a pudding with my evening meal or a snack for supper.

“I’d be lying if I said it was always easy, but I’ve been surprised at how easy it has been.”

Hazel now walks around four miles a day and even signed up for one of this year’s Cancer Research UK Races for Life, running the 3K trek – ‘which I would never have managed in a million years if I hadn’t lost the weight’ – and earning the title of highest fundraiser out of 150,000 who ran it after raising a whopping £5,525.

Hazel admits:

“I want to be as healthy as I can for as long as I can. I have a grandson Cole who’s coming up for two who I look after for one day a week and I want to be able to get up and run around after him.

“My children are so delighted and I tear up when they keep telling me how proud they are of me.”

Holly and Ellie are tying the knot in August 2025 and Hazel, who has just been given her Slimming World group’s Woman of the Year award, says: “I’m getting excited about buying my outfit and choosing a lovely dress instead of a sack.

“And when the photographer says smile, I’ll happily give my widest grin, instead of scurrying behind everyone else to hide.”

* Hazel attends classes run by Dean Simpson-Humphreys at Huyton RAFA Club, Ellison Grove, Huyton on Wednesdays 09.30am, 11am, 5pm and 6.30pm. For more information call Dean on 07714 894482.