Take a load off: Two people tell their individual weight loss journeys
With six out of every 10 adults and one out of every four children in Ireland currently classed as overweight or obese, you would be forgiven for thinking that society would be accustomed to the reality.
But it seems that despite the growing problem, people who are carrying too much weight are still largely overlooked by the rest of the world — in some instances ignored, in other cases at the receiving end of abuse.
Psychologist, Dr David Carey, says society tends to treat overweight people less favourably than their slimmer counterparts.
“There is an unfortunate societal prejudice against people with weight difficulties,” he says.
“Modern media, advertising and marketing place an inordinate value on being slim and our image of beauty revolves so much around a thin physique that we fail to notice the beauty in all people.
{timg]MarieBohanbeforeApril2017_large.jpg[/timg]
“Also, in Western society we tend to view people who are overweight as being guilty for over-eating. We place blame on them, devalue them and they become scapegoats to the shallow, materialistic mind-set which is so prevalent in our culture.”
Marie Bohan from Wexford has always been conscious of her weight. Working in a bakery, the mother of one (Darragh, 13), tried every diet possible but nothing seemed to shift the pounds.
At just over 20 stone, she was depressed, in pain and although never at the receiving end of verbal abuse, always felt people’s eyes on her as she went about her business.
“I’ve struggled throughout my life with my weight and yo-yoed up and down over the years,” admits the 46-year-old. “In 2007, I lost 5 stone through a very low calorie meal replacement diet but it taught me nothing about eating healthily and the day I stopped the diet, I put weight on again — eventually adding another nine stone and suffering from depression for a number of years.
“I didn’t go out at all, just going from home to work and back again. I didn’t want to be seen out socially and hid away from the world as I always felt that people were staring at me. I have no doubt they were talking about me too but not many said anything to my face. Mind you, I think I have buried away a lot of the feelings I had back then because I have recently just remembered a time when a child pointed me out in a shop and asked his father why I was so fat – I just wanted the earth to swallow me up, I was so embarrassed.
“It was instances like this which caused me to become somewhat reclusive and hide away from the world in case I was ridiculed — I was 20 stone and I knew people were talking about me in a negative way.”
But four years ago, Marie, who is married to Jim, finally managed to shed half her body weight and turned her life around for the better.
“In November 2012, I joined Weight Watchers with my friend Lisa,” she says. “I weighed in at 20 stone 3lbs and was so lucky to have the support of my friend because I really don’t think I could have done it on my own. I followed the Weightwatchers plan and in March 2015 reached my goal weight of 11 stone 3lbs. Then decided to try to lose a little more and that September, I reached 10 stone 3lbs marking a 10 stone weight loss – since then I have put on around half a stone but I’m perfectly happy with that.
“I am determined not to put more weight on again and my colleagues have been really supportive, particularly in the beginning, as working in a bakery, I had a habit of picking while I was working. Since I lost the weight people have been so complimentary about how I look. They tell me that I look much younger than I am and are in awe of my story — some even ask for advice about weight loss. Now I am a much more confident person and where before I hid away from the world, now I have no problem talking to people.”
Dr Carey says people can become addicted to food in childhood and it is important for others not to draw attention to it in a negative way as this can exacerbate the problem.
“People can associate food with comfort and soothing at an early age,” he says. “Children are often given sweets after they have had some minor injury and cried or they are given a treat as a reward and these patterns can cause the brain to become addicted to the calming feelings wrongly associated with eating.
“The worst thing you can do or say to a person with a weight difficulty is to draw their attention to it, jeer or mock them. This will only serve to crush their self-confidence and self-esteem as when over-eating is a way to relieve tension and stress the end result will only be more over-eating.”
Stephen Slattery from Ennis knows only too well the dangers of over-eating. The 23-year-old used to play a lot of rugby when he was younger but an injury left him out of action so instead of seeking another form of exercise, he turned to food for comfort.
“When I had to give up rugby due to an injury, I had no training to go to in the evenings, so would stay at home and always ended up eating too much of the wrong food,” he said. “I put on a lot of weight quite quickly and before I knew it I was 17 stone and felt awful. I was always tired and would even fall asleep for an hour or two every evening after work, which is terrible for someone of my age.
“I kept making promises that I would do something to get rid of the weight and my friends, who are all really fit, would tell me to stop talking about it and just get on with it. They could see that I was overweight and not happy about it and being good mates, were honest with me and said I had to do something before it got out of control.” Something finally snapped within him and he decided to make some changes to his life.
“No one ever took the mick out of me, at least not to my face,” the electrician laughs. “But I had no confidence in myself and even though my girlfriend didn’t mention it, I really hated having to buy XXL shirts and bigger trousers. I was very self-conscious and after years of trying different diets and spending a fortune on joining gyms and not sticking with them, I decided to sign up with a personal trainer at Ozone in Ennis.
“This was totally life-changing for me. For the first time, I had someone showing me what exercises I needed to do, telling me what I needed to eat and what I should cut down on — and they were also on my case if I didn’t show up to the gym, wondering where I was and when I would be coming in for my session.
“So it has been absolutely brilliant right from the start and although I have only been going since February, I have already lost 17.5lbs. I am on a 12-month plan so am going to keep going and make sure I change my diet and fitness habits for good.”
Since losing the weight, Stephen has experienced a whole new lease of life and says everyone has been so positive about his achievement.
“My life has transformed since joining Ozone,” he says. “People have been so complimentary to me — my friends and family have been really positive and even the lads in the clothes shops in town where I went to buy new clothes in a smaller size have noticed my weight loss and have commented on it – so I would definitely say that my life is more positive since I lost weight and I have a lot more self-confidence now.
“I need to keep up with a lot of changes — I exercise now three or four times a week, I have really reduced my sugar intake and although I haven’t gone into the priesthood yet, I’ve definitely cut down the amount of pints I drink at the weekend — so the fact that everyone has noticed my hard work, really keeps me going.”
- www.weightwatchers.ie
- www.ozonegym.com
