Debbie told me she was at rock bottom with herself, her self-esteem, in fact with ‘my everything’ in her words when she started her weight loss journey with me. She would often use humour to hide her feelings joking “I take after my Dad, short, fat and hairy”.
“I’ve been big since forever, and basically, just covered up my body for my whole life. No looking in a mirror, no photos, well, very few! I have huge regrets, never experienced swimming with my kids, never felt like a ‘Bride’ whilst choosing my wedding dress, or even on the ‘Big day’ to name just a couple. I’ve just never felt I was worthy, or ‘normal’.”
As a key worker during the pandemic Debbie struggled to balance the immense stress she was facing on a daily basis, and like many people took to comfort eating and drinking. Despite recognising her habits were spiralling out of control she felt unable to stop. Like many of my clients, Debbie reached that tipping point where she knew something had to change and she needed to break the cycle. She needed to see a change quickly and take control.
“ From my first meeting with Alex I knew she just ‘got it' and she understood the struggle I was having with breaking the cycle of eating and drinking too much. She’s been with me on my journey every step of the way.”
As Debbie began to lose weight, she gradually started to feel better about herself, venturing into shops she would have previously felt too self-conscious to step into before, and wearing clothes from the wardrobe she hadn’t dared to previously. Now when friends invite her out she no longer makes those excuses as to why she can’t make it.
“I like to think of myself as caring, compassionate, understanding, and, through my life, have expected everyone to be the same, that however hasn’t always been the case, which sometimes has been hard to deal with. In this instance however I have found someone with the same values, and that has helped me on my journey immensely. I don’t think of Alex as ‘My Consultant’, I think of her as ‘My Friend’. “
