Yo-yo dieter Sarah Edwards has a wardrobe full of size 10 clothes, despite being a size 18. Can she go back to the woman she once was?
Just like certain perfumes, clothes can take you back in time, to a party, event or moment you felt incredible. And now, holding up my pink body-con dress, I can remember the day I wore it like it was yesterday, and can still feel the excitement and satisfaction I felt back then when I put it on.
It was November 2012 and my best friend’s 27th birthday party. I’d not long qualified as a personal trainer – and after slipping on that figure-hugging size 10 dress, I’d never felt so confident, smiling for photos and dancing. I was working out regularly, eating healthily and I looked and felt great as a result of that effort. But I appreciated my figure all the more because, just a few years earlier, I’d been morbidly obese.
I’d always been curvier than other girls at school; my thighs were double the size of some of their skinny legs and I had big boobs, too. Although I wasn’t huge, I still got teased for my shape. I remember, aged 14, a group of boys cruelly chanting ‘fat ginger’ behind me as I walked to school. The humiliation and shame I felt stayed with me and it started a life-long obsession with my body that has seen me lose weight but then pile it back on again and again.
When I left school and went to college, I was a size 12/14 and struggled to make friends. Lonely, I’d sneak off to the shop near campus and binge on ready-made sandwiches, crisps and chocolate.
By the time I was 18 and went to uni to study Interior Design, I was 17st 7lb and asize 22. Desperate to hide how I looked, I dressed in leggings and baggy, long-sleeved tops. After graduating, I started an admin job, but binge eating had become my way of life, and I kept a permanent stash of snacks in my desk drawers at work.
Low point
Denne historien er fra July 22, 2019-utgaven av WOMAN - UK.
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Denne historien er fra July 22, 2019-utgaven av WOMAN - UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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EAT WELL (even on a budget) - Easy meals that make the most of your store cupboard, and won't break the bank
Courgette and pesto pasta
The CATCH
The house was perfect - so why was it so cheap?
Elizabeth and THE RAIN
She had made Lisa's life a misery- and now she was back
I won't stop taking my daughter out of school... - TO GO TO THE BEACH!
One mum tells us why fun, spontaneous days are sometimes more important than being in the classroom
Where's the JUSTICE?
Catherine Wardle's son died over a senseless Snapchat spat
Fat-shamed BY MY MUM
Gemma Hall, 28, showed off her snaps and got a dose of tough love
Fighting for SURVIVAL
When Danielle Camilleri collapsed at 40, the diagnosis was devastating
Finding love AFTER LOSS
As Kelsey Parker moves on after losing her husband Tom, we investigate how difficult it is to find love again in widowhood
Phil's revenge
Phillip Schofield is back on our screens after a 16-month hiatus and it seems it's all-out war between the former presenter and ITV.
'I'm too scared TO HAVE SURGERY'
Christine Lampard on gratitude, staying in shape and date nights with husband Frank.