Whenever I was feeling low, I turned to chocolate to cheer me up. But on a walk one day, I realised something needed to change. By Linda Bailey, 55
As I drove my mum home from our usual Saturday lunch out, I swung into the supermarket car park.
‘I just need a few things,’ I told her.
When I came back with a handful of chocolate bars she frowned at me.
‘We’ve just been for lunch, you don’t need those,’ she said.
I instantly got the hump.
‘I know I don’t need them, Mum,’ I replied. ‘But I fancy some chocolate.’
‘I’m getting worried about you,’ she said.
I understood why. Since I’d been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, I’d been piling on the weight.
The steroids I was on had made my body swell and made me crave carbs. But, in constant pain, I was also feeling sorry for myself and had been eating to cheer myself up — chocolate, crisps, whatever I could get my hands on.
Some nights, I was also polishing off a bottle of wine to try to numb the pain so I could sleep.
Now, I was a size 24 and my confidence had hit an all-time low. But while I knew Mum was right and that I should be trying to lose weight, I didn’t know where to start.
Soon after, I went on holiday with my cousin and niece.
But while they were snapping photos of themselves, I felt so self-conscious about my weight, I told them: ‘Don’t take any of me.’
I covered up in tent-like maxi-dresses and when I was lying on a sunbed by the pool, I made sure I had my sarong over me at all times.
Then back home, my partner Paul and I went out for a walk one day and within seconds, I was out of breath.
‘That’s it,’ I said. ‘I’m going to Slimming World tomorrow.’
In the past I’d tried lots of different diets and had always ended up feeling hungry and miserable. But a friend at work had joined Slimming World and had been doing brilliantly, so it had to be worth a try.
Pulling up to my first meeting, I felt so nervous.
I sat in the car for a few minutes and thought: Am I going to do this?
But deep down I knew I had to do it for my health — and for my happiness too.
‘I’ve said I’m going to go, so I need to go,’ I told myself before taking a deep breath and heading inside.
The welcome I got was so warm that I realised I needn’t have worried.
When they weighed me, I was 24st 4lb, but by the time I left the meeting, I felt determined that the only way was down.
The first changes I made were to stop drinking and start eating breakfast, which I normally skipped.
I also began following Slimming World recipes for healthy, home-cooked meals. In the first week, I lost almost 11 pounds. On other diets it had taken me ages to lose that much, so it fuelled my belief that this time I could do it.
Over the next months, I stuck rigidly to the plan and didn’t miss a meeting. But when the country was plunged into the COVID-19 lockdown and I was furloughed, I struggled.
Despite having lost 4st 7lb by then, I started to gain. Then one day, I had a word with myself.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘You need to get back on the plan.’
It did the trick and I began to lose again.
The more I lost, the more my confidence grew and that really felt fantastic. My health began to improve too. Although I still had good and bad days, I didn’t turn to food for comfort any more. I kept myself on the straight and narrow.
I’ve now lost more than nine stone. I’m a size 14 and have become a self-confessed shopaholic! It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed buying clothes for myself that I’m allowing myself that indulgence!
Although I’d still like to lose a bit more, I feel like a new woman — and that’s a feeling that’s so good, I’m determined to hang on to it!
Height
5ft 9in
Before
24st 4lb Size 24
After
15st 3lb Size 14
Total loss
9st 1lb
Diet before
Breakfast: none
Lunch: McDonald’s
Dinner: takeaway or pie and chips, cheesecake
Snacks: crisps, chocolate
Diet now
Breakfast: overnight oats
Lunch: Moroccan soup
Dinner: jacket potato, cottage cheese, salad
Snacks: Popchips, ice lolly
Linda’s Top Tip
You are going to have bad days, but don’t give up, just start the next day as a new day