Super slimmer: 40, fit and fabulous! ‘I lost 7 stone and 5 dress sizes’
Despite what the doctors (and her body) said, Stacey Farrell was convinced she was fighting fit
The doctor’s face was grave. ‘A slipped disc in your back is causing the pain,’ he said seriously. ‘You need an operation but because you’re morbidly obese, we can’t go ahead. You need to lose weight.’
It was January 2018 and it wasn’t the first time a doctor had warned me to slim down. Although his words were ominous, I didn’t take them seriously. I was a busy childminder who worked long hours, running here, there and everywhere after my children.
‘If I can keep up with them, I can’t be that unfit,’ I told my boyfriend of five years, Stuart Wiseman.
Yes, I was a size 20 but at 5ft 9in, I didn’t let it hold me back. I was still confident, wore bright clothes and an even brighter smile. The only thing that did bother me was my back – it had done ever since I was 16 years old. My dad had always suffered similarly, so I presumed it was hereditary.
I’d had my son, Sean, at just 15 and it had made me determined to prove myself. In my 20s, I worked long hours as a bank manager, before I became a childminder. But I still made time to see my friends, eating out and going for drinks. As my weight had crept up, my back had got worse.
‘ You need to lose weight,’ my GP told me repeatedly, as I made appointments for painkillers.
‘They want to blame everything on weight,’ I shrugged to Stuart.
Despite all the signs telling me otherwise, I was convinced I was healthy.
Yet over Christmas 2017, I was crippled with pain and put on morphine tablets. An MRI scan revealed the slipped disc.
This time, however, something in the doctor’s words must have stuck – because when we came back from a holiday in Kefalonia, a Greek island, in the following April, I shuddered at the pictures. I felt like I was seeing myself for the first time. And I didn’t like it.
Because of my flexible work hours, I couldn’t commit to a weekly group meeting, plus I wanted to get going now. So, I joined Slimming World online.
They promised support but, instead of a group, I’d do weigh-ins at home. I’d never weighed myself before, so I ordered a set of scales.
By the next day, when they arrived, I was ready to go.
I’d emptied my cupboards of food that would tempt me and had done a fresh food shop.
But really, weight meant nothing to me, so when 17st 12lbs flashed up, I had no idea how bad that was – until I got Stuart and Sean to weigh themselves and realised just how much heavier than them I was.
Rather than setting a specific target weight, I decided to aim to get into the healthy BMI bracket. I had no idea how long that would take but I’d planned to go abroad with friends for my 40th birthday in March 2021, so I figured as long as I’d reached it by then, I’d be happy.
Instantly, I changed everything. Rather than picking at the kids’ leftovers all day and grabbing quick bites whenever I could, I set myself firm mealtimes. Breakfast by
7.30am, lunch at 12.30pm and dinner by 6pm.
I also announced on Facebook I was starting to lose weight and shared a picture of my ‘Pounds for Pounds’ reward chart where I’d add a pound coin for every pound I’d lost. (The plan was to use the money at the end to buy new clothes).
In my first week, I lost 4lbs. ‘ Well done!’ everyone commented when I updated my Facebook. ‘A great start!’
It was the boost I needed. Every week, I lost weight and I got so many congratulations, even from people I didn’t know well.
Within three months, I’d lost 2st, then by Christmas, another. It was then I felt ready to start exercising. My gym advised I started gently for my back, with swimming and the reclining static bike.
Soon, though, I felt confident enough to go on the cross-trainer, then for jogs and runs…
Over the next few weeks, I lost another half a stone and felt fantastic. The exercise and Slimming World worked hand-in-hand. I’d get up early to run 5k and by the time I got back, I didn’t want to ruin my good work by eating badly. Another incentive to stick to the plan…
I signed up for bike rides, runs, even a triathlon – things I’d never have been able to even attempt before, when I believed I was healthy. And even better, by the end of
April 2019, I’d lost 6 ½ st and was finally officially healthy.
But after maintaining for a few weeks, I decided to lose another 9lbs, just so I sat comfortably in the middle of my BMI range. That means I’ve lost 100lbs – so I had £100 towards my new slimline wardrobe!
And the best news? Although I still need an op for my slipped disc, my back pain has almost gone.
Now 39, I run, swim, cycle – keeping up with the children is the least energetic thing I do, never mind the most.
And I did it with plenty of time to spare for my big birthday, so when I’m in my new size-10 bikini, celebrating in the sun, I’ll be toasting the fact that I’m 40 and fit!