So, at the start of May this year I weighted in at 107kg in my bare feet. It took me a long time, but I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t convince myself any longer that this was okay. I had joined a gym back in 2005. Back then I tipped 118kg, and a size 26. I got down to 112 by exercising a load but not changing my diet one bit. I felt better, but it didn’t last.
I moved to Spain with my job, and got the biggest land. I was in a physical job, where I had to walk around site all day, climb stairs and ladders, crawl under equipment and generally work all the hours that God gave me. Combine that with landing in a country where you don’t speak the language, cant read menus, and haven’t a clue what is written on most food labels, and I was in a state of starvation for the first few months. The sheer embarrassment of going out to eat was too much for me. So I lost 6kgs in my first month, then came home for Christmas and put it all back on again.
Back to work again in the new year, and by Easter I was tipping 100kg, my lowest weight since i was 14. Back to Ireland and back to my desk job, coupled with a few rough years of family life, and there I was at 107kg, size 22.
I was walking down the street one day after work, feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders, literally and figuratively, when I saw a sign out side a weight loss clinic. Don’t worry, there was no epiphany, no chorus of archangels. I went home, did my research online, called them to find out how it worked, went in for an ‘assessment and information session’, and it all kicked off from there. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t cheap.
I somehow managed to pick one of the most stressful years of my life in which to undertake this life changing experience. And believe me, it has changed me. But 6 months later, here I am, a happy 89kg. I haven’t felt like this in years. I went yesterday and bought a dress in River Island. I have never owned anything from River Island before. Its like climbing a mountain, reaching the top and planting a flag in the summit. Except my flag is a little black dress, which I intend to wear proudly as a badge of honour.
