Don’t Tell Me I Can’t…
Andrea Fisher has finally found her confidence
look better in my 40s
Rifling through my wardrobe, searching for the perfect piece to wear, I finally slip into my new leather skirt. A fitted mini isn’t something I ever thought I’d be wearing at 42, but as I look in the mirror, I have to give myself credit – I look better than I have in decades!
Throughout my 20s I was a size 16. I was always trying to slim, but I loved crisps and cakes and didn’t have the willpower to cut back. Instead, desperate to hide my figure, I’d cover up in baggy clothes. By the time I was in my 30s, things weren’t any better. In fact, I’d gained even more weight, creeping up to 12st. My size 16 jeans were too small, but I’d struggle into them anyway. I must have looked awful – the seams were bulging. But in my head, if I didn’t buy a size up, I could keep telling myself I wasn’t getting any bigger.
It wasn’t until 2012 that I decided to finally do something about my weight. I tried the Cambridge Weight Plan and amazingly, within three months, I had shed 3st 7lb. But the new confidence and waistline sadly didn’t last for very long.
Around that time, my partner and I were moving to a new home, and the stress meant I turned to food and began eating biscuits and having a glass of wine or two after dinner. In just a few months all of my new size 10 clothes were too tight and I had no choice but to dig out my old baggy jumpers and tracksuit bottoms again.
Knowing that my hard work had been for nothing and that I only had myself to blame, made me even more miserable. I avoided looking at myself in the mirror and I was so self-conscious about my size that I felt I didn’t deserve to look nice. I even stopped socialising with friends, only leaving the house if I absolutely had to, which meant I barely touched make-up.
Of course, my depression was noticeable. My mum, Nancy, was worried that I wasn’t feeling like myself any longer, but it was clear why. By the time I turned 42 in February 2018, I weighed 14st 6lb and was wearing a size 18. At 5ft 5in, I looked like a barrel. I was the heaviest I’d ever been, but I couldn’t get out of the rut that I’d found myself in.
‘Go back on the Cambridge diet,’ Mum encouraged. But I knew it wasn’t that simple – I had lost all of my willpower. It wasn’t until May 2018, when I started suffering from acid reflux, migraines and joint pain – all related to my weight – that I found motivation again. I felt like an old woman and I knew that my health would only get worse unless I lost weight. So, that June, I started the Cambridge Weight Plan again. I was drinking shakes and eating soups and six months later I’d lost 5st 8lb and was a size 6. I bought new dresses and tops, invested in some new make-up and even treated myself to some luxury brands. But I didn’t just look better, I felt it, too. I’ve finally thrown away my baggy old clothes because this time, there is no going back, the new me is here to stay.
‘I looked like a barrel’