'Out of control weight left me needing knee surgery but ditching one tipple saved me'
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I’d struggled with my weight my whole adult life and even tried to lose it in the past but my heart was never in it. It was when I had my daughters Jessie, now 21, and Jasmine, 17, that my weight really felt out of control. Yet it took a routine check-up with my GP to spur me into taking action. I was 15st 3.5lb and a dress size 18 and as I heard the words “medically obese” come from my doctor’s mouth, and him telling me I was heading for a knee replacement due to my arthritis – in my 40s – I told myself something had to change.
I looked at myself in the mirror that evening, in tears and in pain from the inflammation in my knees, and I knew that I couldn’t go on like this. I’d come across a social media post from a friend who’d lost weight with Slimming World and she looked incredible. Seeing her look so happy and confident gave me the boost I needed to join a group myself. I wanted to be fitter and healthier, not only for myself but for my daughters too, and only I could control that.
After speaking to my GP, I was offered a 12-week membership to a local Slimming World group, near my home in Stowmarket, Suffolk, through the OneLife Suffolk referral scheme. I remember being racked with nerves on the first night. My confidence was at its lowest and I was scared of being judged but I was very quickly reminded I had no reason to be worried.
Everyone was so lovely and my consultant, Nicholas Watkins, put me at ease right away. Looking back, I just wish I had done it sooner. By the end of the 12 weeks, I’d lost nearly a stone, and was feeling great, so I decided to pay for another 12-week countdown course. Going to the group each week, and listening to the other members talk about their journeys, really helped me think about food differently, and I love that no food is out of bounds. I’ve never felt like I am going without either. If anything, I eat more now than I ever did before.
