‘I AM UP AND ABOUT MORE NOW AND I FEEL AMAZING’

20st Rosemary drank Gaviscon ‘like pop’ when over-eating led to chronic heartburn

DETERMINED Rosemary Hare has shed seven stone in weight – after over-eating saw her drink Gaviscon ‘like pop’ to combat chronic heartburn.

The 59-year-old healthcare assistant, who weighed nearly 20 stone at her heaviest, would down chocolate, crisps and up to a packet of biscuits most of the day.

She also often felt ‘depressed’ after going clothes shopping and coming back with nothing.

Now she has ditched the bad habits and is reaping the rewards, which include going from a dress size of 24-26 to between 12 and 14.

Rosemary, who lives in Uttoxeter with husband Anthony and 16-year-old son

Daniel, weighed 19 stone, 12 pounds when she joined Slimming World in 2019. She said she loathed the way she looked.

“I was having a lot of heartburn and pains in my chest,” she said. “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.”

After vowing to lose weight, Rosemary swapped fruit and salad for the chocolate, biscuits and high fat meat. She also exercises regularly, walking to work now instead of going by bus.

“I feel amazing now,” she said. “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.”

Rosemary says being prepared to ‘keep chipping away’ is the secret to weight loss. “Even if you just lose one pound a week or two, at least it is going down,” she said.

“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.”