Slimmer recalls ordeal of shopping

The “walk of shame” was felt by Tracy Ferguson every time she ventured into an Ayr clothes shop.

The small selection of clothes in much larger sizes was hung right in the farflung corner.

Poor Tracy had to make her way past all the fashionable gear.

Now the 44- year- old can shop wherever the wants.

So far she has lost a whopping six stones, two pounds, shrinking from a size 24 to a 12.

And this week the mum- of- three said: “I feel amazing now and have even been able to halve my medication for type 2 diabetes.”

Tracy lives in Ayr with husband John, 43, an HGV instructor, and children John, 23, and twins Cameron and James, 21.

She used to like nothing better than gorging on multiple packets of cheese and onion crisps but at her heaviest – 17 stone 11lb – she was so miserable she even hated going to the hairdressers as she had to see herself in a big mirror.

She recalled: “The person you didn’t want to be was staring right back at you.

“I hated the walk of shame at New Look’s old shop in the Kyle Centre. The larger section was away in the back corner, hidden away near the changing rooms, and there was a tiny selection. It was quite humiliating at times.

“My h e a l t h w a s deteriorating and the shame of walking through clothes shops trying to rummage was getting me down. Ayr is not the greatest for shopping when you are a size 24.”

Even bending down to tie her shoe laces was a struggle as at 5ft 3 ins her weight was way beyond healthy.

Everyday activities like walking up a flight of stairs left her gasping for breath and her joints ached.

It was in October 2014 that she hit her lowest ebb and decided desperate action was needed.

She hauled herself into the Slimming World Thursday night class at Pro Soccer in Whitletts, Ayr.

With her weight loss,