Doctors said I was too fat to have my tooth out – so I lost six stone

One mum reveals how she lost half her body weight through exercise, intermittent fasting and a change in mindset

I had gone to get my tooth removed, when the oral surgeon said the words that would change my life: “You’re too fat for sedation.” It hadn’t dawned on me that my weight, which had been creeping up through job stress, would affect something so simple as my dentistry. But they told me that at 16st 7lb – the heaviest I had ever been – there was a risk I would stop breathing during the procedure, and I would need to lose at least a stone for the extraction to go ahead. I’ve never felt so ashamed as I did leaving that room four years ago and making another appointment for four months’ time with the receptionist.  
That memory still haunts me – but it was a serious wake-up call. The first step was just to lose that stone as quickly as I could, which I did by stopping eating anything I deemed “bad”, such as cake and chocolate; I cut back on wine at dinner, got myself a workout DVD and did it in my living room every day.
I went back a stone lighter and my tooth was removed. But instead of being done with dieting, that initial loss stirred something much deeper in me. It made me realise that I had been using food as an emotional crutch for 12 years, following a period of turmoil at work, causing me to rise from a size 12 before I had my son to a size 22. 
I ate mindlessly and often – usually Mars bars or cakes – my weight creeping up all the while, which I told myself didn’t matter as I could hide my body behind a computer all day. I found a journal around five years ago in which I had written the same resolution every new year: lose weight. I did follow the SlimFast diet once or twice during that time, but the weight always crept back on.
This time, everything seemed to happen at once: the tooth debacle (I told only my husband and mum, I was so ashamed), finding that journal, and my son turning 18 and telling me he wanted to leave home and move to the country to become a football coach. 
I realised that it was time for me to pick up the reins of my career again, and to do something for me – exactly what I hadn’t been doing while constantly snacking on junk. I think all women go through this gap in their lives, especially when they’re mothers and it dawns on them that they’ve not been living for themselves for a long while. I was suddenly aware of how unhappy I was with how I looked, and I felt a desire to succeed both in business and personally again; to be visible for the first time in years.
Losing that first stone gave me momentum. People started noticing that I had dropped from a size 22 to a 20, and their words of encouragement were a huge motivator. My diet changed radically – I initially ditched carbs at least three days a week, and did intermittent fasting, where I would eat between 10am and 6pm each day, usually 1,200-1,500 calories (though I didn’t track them religiously). I also shifted my exercise habits, making sure I did 10,000 steps a day (which I still do). Now I combine that with two to four gym sessions per week, mostly strength training. Instead of carbs at every meal and endless snacking, now I don’t snack at all, and have two high-protein, high-fat meals within a six-hour window, which keeps me full.
As the weight came off, my wardrobe went through a dramatic shift. I ditched the baggy tops and elasticated bottoms – anything that would help to hide my body – for tight-fitting clothes, such as leather trousers, knee-high boots and sexy dresses. By 2021, 16 months after that visit to the dentist, I was more than 7st down, and incredibly proud of my new body. I’d never been into shopping, but it felt amazing to pick up a size 10 or a small and look great in whatever item of clothing it was for the first time in so long.
Not everyone was as thrilled by my success. I went from being the fattest of my friendship group to the thinnest – by which point the comments started rolling in, like “you’re getting way too skinny”, or “you look too thin”. It got to the point where they stopped inviting me out with them, which was upsetting. I was more confident than ever, having relaunched myself as a business growth strategist – which involved putting photos of myself out there – but my friends’ silence made me second-guess that decision. 
Luckily I developed a new circle of business contacts via my work who have helped me through, along with the support of my husband and son (my husband is happy with how I look, though he would never tell me how to eat). That, plus how good I feel, has kept me going.
The best thing for keeping me on track has been to see this new routine as a way of life, not a diet. That means I don’t beat myself up if things “go wrong” – like when I had a slice of cake and a cocktail the other day – because there’s no point demonising what you enjoy. I know that, for the most part, what I’m putting in my body is good – and that now I’m eating for pleasure and health, rather than emotion. 
As told to Charlotte Lytton
French baguette with butter and jam, baked beans on toast, or a sausage sandwich – anything with bread.
Sandwich and crisps, usually with a pork pie on the side.
Pasta with chicken in tomato sauce, a couple of glasses of wine, followed by a chocolate dessert.
A chocolate bar and a bag of Mini Cheddars, usually while at my desk.
Nothing.
A “picky lunch” at around 11am, typically a slice of ham, boiled egg, salad, or a few peanuts. Sometimes an omelette.
Chicken thighs with spinach, onion, mushrooms, and sometimes a little full-fat cheese, or a high-protein salad eaten by 5pm. I drink a couple of glasses of wine two to three times a month.
I no longer snack at all.
Ambling around a field once or twice a day with my two dogs.
Walking at least 10,000 steps a day, and up to four weekly gym sessions, mostly strength training. I recently hiked a mountain in Slovenia, and I was so proud of myself – I’d never have managed if I hadn’t lost the weight.
Recommended