CAKE and chocolate for breakfast, pizza and chips for lunch and takeaways at teatime. Tracey Valentine loved feeding her family - but she was killing them with kindness.
"They had been through a very traumatic time and I saw feeding them as a way of comforting them," says Tracey. "But I was also aware that I was their only living parent. What I was doing to them was bad enough, but I was in danger of cutting my own life short too."Lunch: Cheese sarnies, sausage baguette, KFC."I was comfort eating and just wasn't realising what I was eating and what I was drinking.Lunch: Veggie bake, low-fat quiche, homemade soup."And it was all my fault," admits 40-year-old Tracey. "I was the one who dished their food up. I was killing my kids and I had to do something about it."Mr Walsh said: "Gary was known by lots of people.AFTERLunch: Burger, large fries, extra-large Coke.Jacqui, of Forest Hall, North Tyneside, said: "When I worked in London, my job was very sociable.CAPTION(S):Snacks: Crisps, toast, extra sandwiches.And thanks to the family's new exercise regime even their dog and cat have slimmed down too!Jacqui added: "It can be done if you have the willpower to do it and have the support of the people around you to talk to."TRACEY, 40Ben worked for a catalogue company for a few months after leaving school and was still trying to find work when he died, on July 18CRAIG, 36Ben's son Benjamin, two, lives with his mum Hannah Wilson, an ex-girlfriend, in Catchgate near Stanley.Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, bacon sarnies.Breakfast: Full English, bacon sandwiches.KARLEY, 15Tracey finally decided she had to take action, so she joined her local Slimming World group in Bournemouth in May 2007.Just 18 months ago mum, dad and two teenagers were all dangerously overweight.Karley loves her new look.SLIMMING World: Call 0844 897 8000 or visit www.slimmingworld.comDinner: Curry, burger and chips.Dinner: Pasta wi th tomato sauce, lasagne.Breakfast: Cereal, fruit & low-fat yoghurt."As the weight dropped off it was like I'd found myself again. I felt in control for the first time in years," Tracey says. "We still eat a lot - but with a healthier understanding."We still have not come to terms with his death and it seems such a long time since he left home to go and see his friends for the get-together. We just wish we know what killed him but we will just have to wait."Snacks: Crisps and chocolate.MUCH MISSED: Ben Walsh with his pet dog Buddy"It's so nice to feel confident," she says. "Boys were never interested in me, but they are now." Sam adds: "I was surprised at how nice healthy food could be... now I can finally wear designer clothes.""I kept it to myself for weeks," says Tracy. But she began to lose weight - and when the kids noticed, they wanted to slim down too. And so Tracey started to change the way she cooked for her whole family. Instead of fatty, stodgy food she created healthy dishes, with plenty of vegetables.Snacks: Chocolate, crisps."We all have big appetites and I used to serve up all the wrong food. At breakfast time there'd be lots of toast with peanut butter, even cakes and chocolate.But determined Jacqui decided to beat the bulge and spent the following 18 months on a specialist diet.His mother Carole-Anne died of cancer in 1996.Ben Walsh was fit, 6ft 3, 16-and-a-half stone and happyg o-lucky.Jacqui Brown, 34, tipped the scales at 28 stone after a lifestyle of ready meals, booze and comfort eating took its toll.Dinner: Veg lasagne, salad, baked potatoes.Lunch: Home-made soup or baked potato, salad.Within weeks all four of them were losing weight."Seeing the kids gain weight and gradually begin to lose their confidence made me feel desperately sad. But I just didn't know what to do about it.""He was never seriously ill in his life. He was a happy-go-lucky lad.Snacks: Ryvita minis, apples.Snacks: Fruit, frozen berries, cereal bars, Ryvita minis."For lunch we'd have pizza and chips. And for dinner I would cook pasta with a rich, creamy sauce, or we'd have takeaways.AFTER Breakfast: Cereal, fruit and low-fat yoghurt.Jacqui's diet meant replacing tempting treats with slimming products bought in bulk from counsellor Paula Ball, who offered one-to-one support from her Ashington home."James (Ben's friend) went to bed and Ben fell asleep on the settee. When James got up the next morning Ben was dead.""It got to the point that I had to do something."He had travelled to Nottinghamshire to see a pal and the two had a quiet night. But the next morning Ben was found dead.Snacks: Fruit, cereal bars.Dinner: Pizza & chips."I really worried about the harm I was causing the children," says Tracey. "I knew that being overweight could set them up for a lifetime of health problems.At school he played football and rugby.
Dinner: Pasta wi th tomato sauce, lasagne.
Author: TRACY SCHAVERIAN
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