A health scare had left me trapped in my own home. Could someone help me plan an escape? By Ann Barrowman, 71
Staring at the photo of my husband Alex, my eyes filled with tears.
He’d died the year before, aged just 64, after a series of health complications. We’d been married for 28 years.
When my son James saw me upset, he hugged me and said: ‘You’re going to be OK, Mum.’
But losing Alex had got me thinking about my own health too.
I avoided the scales, but wore a size 28.
Alex and I met while working in a pub together, and we’d either fill up with pub grub or nip to the local chippy on our breaks. That’s how the weight had piled on.
But James was my only son, and he had a wonderful two-year old daughter.
I thought: They’ve lost Alex, I don’t want them to lose me too.
However, the next week, I’d arranged to meet James at the shops, which was a bus ride from my home in Glasgow.
But one moment I was heading to the bus stop and then the next, I was waking up in a hospital bed.
‘You’ve had a heart attack,’ a nurse explained.
I’d needed a double-bypass operation to save my life.
When James came to visit me later, he looked relieved to see me awake.
‘Thank God you’re OK,’ he said.
James explained that I’d collapsed in the middle of the street, and a passer-by called Ronnie had given me CPR.
It was a month before I was well enough to leave hospital, but back at home, I became terrified to go outside in case it happened again.
Soon I was only leaving my home once a month, and James or someone else had to be with me.
There was no way I’d go out alone.
While I’d lost some weight in hospital, now that I was stuck at home, I fell back into my bad eating habits and piled it on again.
Then one day, James told me he’d started the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, and he was full of praise for his consultant, Martin.
‘You should come along too,’ he told me.
‘I don’t think I’d be comfortable seeing a bloke,’ I said.
But when James lost a stone in a month, I decided I had nothing to lose.
So James drove me to the shop where Martin was based.
I listened as he explained that I’d be on 800 calories a day.
When he weighed me, I was 18 stone.
‘We’ll take it one step at a time,’ Martin reassured me.
So, I swapped my usual breakfast fry-up for porridge, then had pasta for lunch and chicken salad for dinner.
That first week, I lost just over seven pounds, and by the end of the month, I’d lost a whole stone.
Martin was brilliant. He’d been through a similar experience — he’d lost someone close to him and then decided he needed to lose weight.
‘It wasn’t until I was 30, that I finally decided to sort myself out,’ he told me. ‘I lost 11 stone on the same plan you’re on now. That’s why I decided to help other people.’
We bonded over our shared experiences, and each week he spurred me on — not just to lose weight, but to rebuild my confidence too.
Soon I felt strong enough to walk to my weekly weigh-in all on my own!
When James turned 40, almost a year on, I was down to 10st 5lb and went to his party wearing a slinky size-10 dress.
My health scare turned me into a recluse, but losing weight has helped me get my confidence back.
I no longer have to hide away, and I can now run around after my granddaughter, which is just amazing.
I love going out and Martin jokes I’ve got a better social life than him now!
I’m so glad James encouraged me to start going to him. And I know for certain my Alex would be proud of me and what I’ve achieved.
I want to be around for my family for many years to come.
You can follow Ann’s story on Martin’s Instagram @the_diet_guy
Height
5ft 3in
Before
18 stone Size 28
After
10st 5lb Size 10
Total loss
7st 9lb
Diet before
Breakfast: fry-up
Lunch: takeaway fish and chips
Dinner: chicken korma with naan bread
Snacks: crisps and bread rolls
Diet now
Breakfast: porridge with water
Lunch: pasta or sweet and sour noodles
Dinner: chicken and salad
Snacks: 1:1 chocolate bar