Rosemary was 20st and downing Gaviscon because of over-eating has shed 7st and feels ‘fantastic’
A HEALTH care assistant who was reduced to drinking Gaviscon as if it “was pop” due to her terrible over eating has slimmed down by a whopping seven stone and says she feels “fantastic”.
Rosemary Hare, 59, said she would often feel “depressed” after going clothes shopping and coming back with nothing to wear when she weighed almost 20 stone.
Her over eating meant she would get chronic heartburn that left her drinking the indigestion medication most of the time. Her diet at the time saw her downing chocolate, crisps and up to a packet of biscuits most days – something she has now ditched from her diet. Her dress size at the time was a 24 to 26. Her dress size is now between 12 and 14.
Rosemary, who lives in Uttoxeter with her husband Anthony and 16-year-old son Daniel, said at her heaviest in 2019 she was left feeling depressed and loathing the way she looked. And she vowed to lose weight and joined a slimming group.
Rosemary said: “I joined Slimming World in 2019 and I was weighing 19 stone and 12 pounds. I was having a lot of heartburn and pains in my chest. I was also really lethargic all the time.
“I hated the way I looked. Going clothes shopping would depress me. I was a size 24-26 and I couldn’t get into the nicer clothes. I’d come home with nothing and I would be in a bad mood.
“I was taking tablets for indigestion and was drinking Gaviscon like I was drinking pop. I felt so ill a lot of the time.”
She has ditched the chocolate and biscuits, and high fat meat for fruit and salad. She also takes regular exercise, including ditching taking the bus to work and walking instead.
Rosemary said: “I feel amazing now. I don’t have any heartburn and am up and about more now. I felt like I was holding people back at work. I was putting it on my colleagues. I felt like I was really horrible. You look in the mirror and all you see is fat. But since I started walking into town instead of getting the bus I have been walking everywhere. It feels great.
“Back then I was always comfort eating and after you comfort eat something you shouldn’t have, you think to yourself “’why did I eat that.’ I definitely look at food differently. I manage what I eat in a far better way now.”
She has also offered advice to anyone who is trying to lose weight, saying they just need to keep at it. She has also thanked the team at Slimming World in Uttoxeter for their help.
Rosemary added: “You just have to keep chipping away at it. Even if you just lose one pound a week or two, at least it is going down.
“I found that I was just carrying on with it going down steadily. At the moment I am maintaining it. I have kept it off and am keeping myself healthy.
“The group led by Gillian at Uttoxeter is brilliant. I’ve made lifelong friends and we are one big family who support each other. It has changed my life drastically, it is not just a thing for a couple of months. It is a lifelong thing now. It still doesn’t feel real to me.”