I Was Too Fat To Watch TV

When her weight made it difficult to relax, Kimberly Watson, 33, made a big change

- Frances Leate And Lucy Notarantonio

My stomach rumbled as I peeled off the cardboard on a pile of foil trays and sunk down into our big, comfy sofa. ‘It smells so good,’ I grinned as my boyfriend, Matt, then 28, piled the Chinese food onto our plates and I unscrewed a bottle of rosé. It was August 2015, we’d not long got back from a family holiday to Turkey with my kids from a previous relationship, Hollie, then nine, and Mason, five.

We’d had an amazing time, but before I prepared to go back to my job as a maternity care assistant at my local hospital, I just wanted to relax in front of the TV with Matt and tuck into my favorite takeaway.

Struggling to breathe

Though, moments like this weren’t exactly a rare treat. While I’d cook something healthy for the kids after school, as soon as Matt came home from his job in construction, we’d order in a Chinese or Indian takeaway for ourselves – often up to five times a week.

After eating several plates full of spare ribs, special fried rice, and prawn balls, I sat back and slowly sipped my glass of wine. Only, something didn’t feel quite right – I could feel my chin resting on my chest and the skin was rubbing together. It felt uncomfortable and I struggled to breathe properly. ‘Are you OK?’ Matt asked as I wriggled around, trying to get comfy.

‘I think I’m probably just getting a bit too fat for this,’ I groaned, wedging my hand between my chin and my chest to stop the skin touching.

‘What? Too fat to watch TV?’ Matt said with a chuckle. I laughed, too – he was right, it was a bit ridiculous.