“I lost 6st – now school bullies beg me for dates”
Maici Quirke transformed her look, and gained some very unexpected admirers...
Striking a pose in a bodycon dress that hugs her enviable figure, it’s no wonder Maici Quirke has lots of fans– and frequently turns down offers of dates.
But incredibly, before overhauling her diet and joining a gym just a year ago, the 19 year old was regularly bullied for weighing over 16st.
Now 6st lighter, the student midwife says her former bullies are begging her to go out with them.
Maici, who lives in Bristol, says, “I used to be tormented by school bullies, who would call me fat and ugly. But now I’ve slimmed down from a size 20 to a healthy size 8, my new figure hasn’t gone unnoticed by boys who used to tease me – and they now ask me out on dates!
“I brush off their advances – clearly they’re superficial if they didn’t like me before. And I’m very happy with my boyfriend who has loved me for the past four years, regardless of my size.”
DEVASTATED
Maici had struggled with her weight her entire life and, shockingly, she began secret fad diets when she was just ten years old.
She explains, “I’d always been bigger than my friends and family, and even as a 10-year-old child I had to wear adults’ clothes. As I got older and became more aware of my size, I went to extreme lengths to lose weight.
“I did everything from drinking slimming shakes, to taking laxatives, to cutting out food altogether.
“I’d lose a few pounds, only to put it all back on again and then some.
“When my mum found out I’d been taking laxatives to lose weight, she desperately tried to help me by preparing healthy home-cooked meals.
“But I’d use my pocket money to buy chocolate, sweets and crisps, which I’d stash away in my bedroom and eat in secret. By the time I was 15 I had to wear adult size 18 and 20.”
And Maici’s feelings about her body were made worse by cruel bullies, who teased her at school.
She says, “I was 12 years old when my biology teacher asked everyone in my class to weigh themselves, as part of a project about BMI (body mass index).
“I didn’t even look at the scales, so I have no idea how much I weighed, but my classmates saw and began teasing me. They called me a ‘pig’ and threw sweet wrappers at me.
“From then on, the bullying was relentless. When I got social media, boys would message me, calling me ugly and telling me to kill myself. I felt so worthless."
One person who supported Maici was her boyfriend
Mathew, who Maici met when she was 15.
Maici says, “Mathew insisted I was beautiful regardless of my size, but I never believed him. I always feared he’d leave me for someone slimmer – and my bullies said the same.
“They’d message Mathew online, encouraging him to break up with me as he was ‘too slim’ for me. But he stuck by my side.”
ROCK BOTTOM
By the time Maici left school, her confidence had hit rock bottom.
She says, “I’d hide beneath baggy clothes and I avoided mirrors at all costs.
“And my weight was impacting my health, too. I’d get out of breath walking up the stairs and I struggled to tie my shoelaces.”
Maici’s wake-up call came last July, when she weighed 15st and noticed a large stretch mark across her upper body.
She says, “I noticed one stretch mark that went from the bottom of my stomach all the way up to my breast.
“Taking a minute to really look at myself, I knew I had to change my ways, once and for all. I didn’t tell anyone I was going on a diet, but I promised myself I’d stick to it.”
Maici began by cutting out sugary sweets, and she got rid of her secret stash of snacks.
She says, “Removing highsugar chocolate and salty crisps from my diet was the most obvious way to start losing weight.
“Within just two weeks,
I’d lost 10lb and I was already more energetic, plus my skin was glowing.
FEELING MOTIVATED
“I thought I’d hit bumps in the road, but by reminding myself of my goals, I had the motivation to keep on going."
Maici also joined a gym, where she toned her body by lifting weights. By July this year, she had dropped down to 9st 5lb, losing a total of 6st.
And her new look has caught the eye of some unexpected admirers, too.
She says, “Before lockdown, at college,
I bumped into some of my old school bullies in the corridor. When I saw them, all those old emotions came flooding back and I braced myself for a horrible comment.
“But they didn’t recognise me at first. Then I saw the flash of recognition in their eyes, and their jaws dropped open. They were stunned by my new look.
“As I walked past, they told me I looked fit and even asked me for a date. I just burst out laughing. Only a couple of years ago, they’d been tormenting me – I couldn’t believe their nerve.
“I felt great turning them down – they’d never been kind before, and even though I look different now, I won’t forget how they treated me.
“And besides, I’m with Mathew, who has always loved me, no matter my size."
Now, Maici says she’s proud of all of her hard work.
She says, “I thought I was going to be big forever. I love the way I look now, but I won’t forget the girl who worked so hard to get me here.”
I WAS CALLED A ‘PIG’ – THEY TOLD ME I WAS UGLY AND SHOULD KILL MYSELF