When my doctor told me I needed gastric surgery, I was horrified. But it made me determined to prove him wrong. By Margaret Wilson, 49
Arriving home from work, I looked in the fridge.
There was food in there, but after a long day at work, I couldn’t be bothered to cook.
‘I’m ordering a takeaway,’ I told my husband Brian.
‘OK, love,’ he said.
I popped out to pick it up and soon I was tucking into a plateful of comforting Chinese chicken curry and rice.
This would’ve been fine it had been a one-off, but I often avoided cooking and opted for a takeaway or pizza chips from the freezer.
I’d started putting on weight as a teenager and then when I was pregnant with my kids, Emma and Ryan, I’d taken eating for two very seriously and piled on even more.
Over the years, my bad eating habits had seen me hit 24st 5lb, a size 32.
Deep down, I was devastated about how big I’d got. I avoided having my photo taken if I could and hated catching even a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Yet, every time I tried to go on a diet, I couldn’t stick to it for more than a few weeks.
The thought of food and all the things I shouldn’t be eating would become all-consuming and I’d slip back into my old ways.
Now, despite how unhappy it made me feel, I couldn’t find the motivation to lose the weight.
Then I had a fall at work and hurt my knee. Walking on it was agony, so I went to GP to ask for some pain relief.
But when he started going on about my weight, I switched off. I heard him say something about gastric surgery, but I thought he was just mentioning it as an option.
Only then, he sent me to talk to a nurse who said: ‘We’re going to refer you for a gastric band.’
So, this wasn’t just a suggestion. They thought it was the answer to my weight problem.
But I just couldn’t accept that my only option was something so drastic.
‘I do need help,’ I told her. ‘But if I’m going to lose weight, I want to do it myself.’
I left the surgery feeling angry and upset. It felt like they just saw me as a problem and the solution to them was a major operation.
Back home in Deans, West Lothian, I felt a determination rising up inside me that I’d never felt before.
It was time to take action so I decided to join Weight Watchers but instead of going to a class, I downloaded the app. Having everything at my fingertips was really convenient.
I got Brian to check my starting weight on the scales. It was 24st 5lb.
‘I’m not sure how much of that I can lose,’ I said.
My daughter Emma made me a sticker chart and every time I lost a pound, I put a wee sticker on there and it soon began building up.
After three weeks of following the plan and using the app to track what I was eating, I’d lost a stone.
I’d felt determined, but now I began to believe that I had it in me to do it this time.
It also made me realise that this wasn’t just lose weight and eat what I want again. This was going to be a change forever.
I’d never been much of a cook, but with help from Emma and my mum, I started to enjoy it.
My aim at first had been to lose 10 stone, but once I’d done that, I kept going.
I began exercising regularly at the gym too and ended up losing more than 14 stone and dropping 11 dress sizes.
Now, two years on, I’ve maintained that weight loss, which is the biggest achievement of all.
Looking back, I feel like I wasted so much time being overweight. But there’s no point dwelling on the past. The threat of a gastric band gave me the kick I needed to make a change.
Now, I’m fittest, healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been and I’m ready to embrace the future.
Margaret’s TOP TIP: Don’t let a bad day ruin your journey, and never forget the reason why you want to lose weight.
Height: 5ft 2in
Weight before: 24st 5lb, size 32
Weight after: 10st 1lb, size 10
Total loss: 14st 14lb
DIET BEFORE
Breakfast: Toast with butter and jam
Lunch: Sandwich and crisps
Dinner: Takeaway or pizza and chips
Snacks: chocolate, ice cream, Pringles.
DIET AFTER
Breakfast: Porridge and fruit
Lunch: Soup or chicken salad
Dinner: chicken or fish with rice and lots of veg
Snacks: Low sugar jelly, yoghurt