I managed to overcome negative thoughts

After serving a Homemade cottage cheese pie loaded with vegetables, I took my place at the table. “Dinner is served,” I shouted up the stairs for me. My daughter Daisy, who is eight years old, will listen. My mouth was watering, except it wasn’t because of the food on the table. My eyes sparkled as I glanced at the Chinese restaurant’s menu, speed dialing to order my dinner. While I was happy cooking healthy foods for my daughter, I bought greasy and delicious food most of the time. At that time, I couldn’t think that I ordered greasy food for dinner three times a week. This caused my weight to grow, although I was in a constant fight not to gain weight because I was always dieting. But when I managed to lose six kilos, I simply couldn’t keep it off, I always went back to my initial weight and even gained a little more by fulfilling every craving I had. * Until I was 30, I suffered the shame of being too fat to sit on chairs because I couldn’t fit. I weighed up to 177 kilos and was a size 28. On one occasion with my daughter Daisy at an amusement park, a worker had to ask me if I could get off a ride because “it was too big.” That was deadly for me. “It’s okay, Mom,” Daisy told me, trying to cheer me up.

My weight affected my life

One time we met some people while Daisy and I were at a picnic in the park. “Why don’t you sit down,” one of them asked. “The truth is that I’m not a big fan of sitting on the floor,” I lied, the truth was that if I sat down, I wouldn’t be able to get up! However, over time my weight went down when my marriage ended, at which time I was 41 years old. We were together for over 10 years and suddenly I became a single mom, it was a big adjustment in Daisy’s life and of course, mine. So from not eating anything because of my sadness, I started eating all the time. I devoured three things that made me feel better: chocolates, wine and fast food. To clear our heads, I took Daisy to Tenerife, Spain. I remember that while I was already in Spanish lands, I plopped down on a plastic chair that was next to the hotel pool, I saw my daughter playing with a new friend inside the pool. Then suddenly… “Ah,” I shouted as loud as I could. The legs of the plastic chair couldn’t support my excess weight and then I fell. Everyone was looking at me lying on the floor, my face turned all red. I got up and ran quickly to the hotel bathrooms, where I started crying. “Mom, are you okay?” Daisy asked me. “Yes,” I said, sobbing while trying to smile, “Mommy’s pride is hurt, that’s all,” I told my daughter. That should have motivated me to make a change, but when I tried to eat healthy, the holiday food I prepared made me feel better. I couldn’t break the cycle of eating for comfort and escapism.

I fell into depression because of my overweight

Back home, my weight rose to over 300 pounds, so I started to develop pain in my right leg and had to go to the hospital. I was diagnosed with cellulitis, a bacteria that caused infections on my skin that developed because of my obesity. It had become a septic tank, and it all boiled down to my life being in danger. “We would have to amputate your leg,” the doctor warned me. I was left with my mouth open. I am so grateful that after six weeks in the hospital on a large dose of antibiotics, the doctors were able to save my leg. But there was a problem, they told me that my relatives had to take care of me. I couldn’t put any weight on my leg, and so at the age of 42, my parents Terry and Anne agreed to take care of me. They were both 60 years old, they gave me a room with a toilet, so I wouldn’t have any problems going to the bathroom. Plus, they built a room for Daisy and not only that, they cooked and cleaned for us. * Meanwhile I I felt helpless, ashamed and useless. In a moment of desperation, I thought that my parents were a better father figure to Daisy than I was, I felt like I was failing her as a mother. Hoping to free them from the burden it placed on them, I decided to end it all. I called the Samaritans to get practical advice on how to tie up loose ends before committing suicide. Only during the call…”your daughter needs you,” the volunteer reassured me. “You owe it to your family, you have to try to beat your food addiction one last time.” At that moment, I realized he was right. I had to take my own life to help my loved ones. He had a food addiction and he would try to beat it once again.

I managed to overcome my overweight thanks to Cambridge Weight Plan

When I signed up for the Cambridge Weight Plan, I weighed 146 kilos. I swapped everything for a calorie-controlled diet that relied on shakes and bars. In my first week I lost 4 kilos. That was enough to motivate me to continue. After six months I have lost 38 kilos. Little by little I began to feel much better about myself. First, I was able to walk again and then I was able to depend less on my parents. I was able to return home to my daughter and started doing normal things like bathing, cleaning, shopping and light exercise. * “You look beautiful, mom,” Daisy told me crying when I had lost 69 kilos, I was almost reaching my goal, which was 82 kilos. I went from size 32 to size 12, something I never imagined would happen even in my wildest dreams. Now there is no I love nothing more than showing off my figure in tight jeans and trendy clothes. I am now passionate about helping others realize their weight problems will end when they accept that they have problems with food. I came close to ending my life because of it and I fear that there are other people out there who are experiencing the same thing I was experiencing. I have since trained to be a Cambridge consultant to help people lose weight and I am still very grateful to the Samaritan who saved my life. I finally feel like the mom my daughter deserves. If you want more information on nutrition and health topics, or need advice to find the healthiest eating plan to help you lose weight, click here.