Now she's a bubbly businesswoman, but first mum-of-three Julie Lou Weston had to leave a life of bulimia and diet pills behind and learn to love her curves. The 38-year-old talks to Lisa Stocks about her crusade for body acceptance – especially for the larger lady

JULIE Lou Weston will be the first to tell you that size doesn't matter. But she hasn't always felt that way.

Now standing proud at a size 22, her attitude to her body is a million miles away from when she was a slim size 12 in her teenage years and her weight became an unhealthy obsession.

Now living in Summerville Road, Trent Vale, Julie Lou is mum to Jake, aged 16, Elliot, four, and Lewis, two.

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And it was in childhood that her own troubles began.

Dealing with the emotional rollercoaster and weight gain of puberty, as well as coming to terms with her parents' separation, were all factors. But it was a comment that she needed to lose around three stone, despite being six feet tall and 11 stone, that she took to heart.

"It made me retreat into myself," she explains. "I became really conscious of my size. I'd look at myself in the mirror and think I was fat, and look at other people and think, 'They are really thin, I want to be like that'. At that age it doesn't take a lot to go down that self-loathing road."

And so began a dark period in her life, littered with diet pills and a destructive eating disorder.

As a young woman growing up in the 1980s, the introduction of diet pills was a popular 'quick-fix'.

"Nobody knew anything different," explains Julie Lou, who was then unhappy with her size 10 to 12 figure.

The bulimia which followed saw her weight drop to nine-and-a-half stone, making her underweight for her height.

"Throwing up was part of my everyday life for a number of years," she remembers. "I'd throw up two to three times a day and I ended up with a stomach ulcer."

She hid the disorder from her family, who put the ulcer down to stress.

But her weight issues stopped when, aged 18, she decided to take charge of her life, follow her dream to work abroad and headed to Majorca.

Removing herself from the negativity she experienced in England helped her re-evaluate her life and accept herself.

"It was easier to see I was a good person," she says.

The recovery was complete when, at the age of 22, she gave birth to Jake.

"It came to an end when I had my little boy and that made things seem much clearer. I've always wanted to run my own business and I thought I'd start my crusade, although I didn't know how long it would take me."

While studying for a BTEC in fashion and photography at the age of 25, and a happy size 16, she met her husband Oliver, now a 33-year-old salesman, when they both studied at Burslem college.

"Ollie loves me whatever size I am, and that's what I strive for. You have to love yourself, whether you're a size eight or 28," she says.

But it wasn't until three years ago that Julie Lou realised she could take her skills further.

With her old love of fashion and photography rekindled, as well as an ambition to start her own company, she began a start-up business degree at Staffordshire University last year and launched her company iArtizan.

An element of this is Goddess Photography, aimed at giving women more confidence about their bodies, and to show them they are beautiful, no matter what their shape or size.

Not surprisingly, her service has been popular.

Mel Gratton, aged 33, who works in sales and is from Biddulph, says: "I've always had a negative body image, but I'm more positive having done this.

"I see the pictures and I feel I thought I was a lot bigger than I actually am. The mental picture I had of myself was different from the real image. Julie did that in a photograph."

Julie Lou says bespectacled TV fashion guru Gok Wan was an inspiration.

And it hasn't stopped at photography. She has also set up an organisation called Curvaceous to help women love their figures, as well as creating a Facebook group called Celebrate Curvaceous to provide a forum for these women.

Now Julie Lou's latest venture is to bring curvy people, and admirers of the fuller figure, together at a special club night which she believes is the first of its kind in the area.

The night will feature a variety of entertainment, including belly dancers, as well as hunky hosts and curvy hostesses to make people feel welcome.

But she's quick to add that her aim isn't to ostracise slimmer people. It's a crusade to get women, no matter what their size, to accept their bodies.

She adds: "I don't condemn skinny. I've got lots of friends who are skinny. It's about loving yourself. If you do want to lose weight, lose weight. If you're happy with the size you are, fine. Be happy! Now I enjoy being bigger – it's more me, and I feel I've finally fitted into my skin."

Julie Lou's husband is full of praise for his wife.

"I think what Julie is trying to achieve is fantastic," he says. "Most men prefer a fuller-figured woman, if you ask them. I want a proper woman; somebody you can hold on to."

Club Curvaceous takes place at Coco's on Bryan Street, Hanley, on October 17 between 9pm and 3am. Admission is by ticket only.