Xmas jumper saved mylife
Charity boss Fiona reveals how horror photo of herself in a huge men’s Christmas sweater spurred her on to shed six stone by ditching her junk food diet
A MUM of three has told how she finally realised it was time to lose weight when she had to wear an XXXL man’s Christmas jumper to a fancy dress party. To maker matters worse, when Fiona Ednie arrived at the bash, she found the jumper theme had been cancelled and everyone else was all dressed up. Desperate to flee the party, instead 18-stone Fiona agreed to stay for a drink and photos with friends. Now the 52-year-old is thrilled she did and can’t wait for Christmas Jumper Day on Friday – as that mortifying picture made her lose 6st. Fiona, a charity boss from Glasgow, said: “My Christmas jumper didn’t just change my life – it likely saved it too. “I hated it because I looked so awful in it. It had a robot design because I had to buy it in the men’s department. But now I feel a strange affection for it. I’m a new woman this year because of it.
“At my size, I was heading for an early grave – now I’m fitter and healthier than ever.”
Size-10 Fiona is facing her first slim Christmas in 25 years. She’d battled obesity since becoming a mum and feared her junk food diet meant she’d be fat forever.
She’d been a size 12 before getting pregnant for the first time in 1993. But after her sons Steven, Andrew and Callum were born, she couldn’t kick the bad habits and the huge appetite she’d developed.
As a size 20 single working mum, life revolved around quick freezer meals and Fiona struggled to keep up with the kids. She said: “I couldn’t run around with them without getting out of breath, I even had to use an inhaler.” But Fiona still binged on chocolate and pastries. “Christmas was the worst,” she said. “I’d eat all the Celebrations and have to replace them. Same with the mince pies.” By 2016, she was 18st 2lb and size 22. She said: “I lived in black leggings and stretched tops to try to blend in.”
But as the director of a charity, she was responsible for organising a Christmas jumper fundraising day later that year.
She said: “I knew it would be hard finding a Christmas jumper in my size so I put it off until the last moment.”
When she finally braved the shops, all Fiona could fit was an XXXL jumper in the men’s department at Matalan. She said: “I felt ridiculous and couldn’t wait to get it off.”
But things got worse when she arrived at the party. Fiona said: “I made this big entrance and just wanted the ground to swallow me when I saw everyone dressed up. My friend admitted she’d forgotten to tell me they’d changed the dress code.”
Days later she signed up to the Cambridge Weight Plan, ditching junk food and takeaways for shakes and bars.
“It was so tough,” she said. “I had withdrawals from the sugar and awful headaches but in one week my clothes were looser. I was thrilled.”