A mum who hid her food addiction from her family has turned her life around and lost an amazing nine stone. Jill Rutherford, 53, described herself as a 'secret eater' and says she began gaining weight at the age of 16-years-old during her first job as a seamstress.
Jill, from Newcastle, was 'obsessed with bread' and would do things like sneak off to the local fish and chip shop for a large cod and chips, basket of bread, and full-fat coke, before going home and tucking into a massive homemade dinner.
At her heaviest, Jill weighed 20st 10lb and once split the seams on her size 26 trousers.
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She says that her most 'mortifying' experience was when she found herself 'wedged' in a plane seat during a trip to Dubai which left her 'black and blue' from bruising.
The turning point for Jill however was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer which the doctors put down to her weight. Since then, the mum-of-two who used to scoff three chocolate bars on the drive home and then hide the evidence from husband John, 56, vowed to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Speaking about her old eating habits she said: “It was the norm to tuck into several slices of bread in the evening after John went to work. In my head if nobody saw me do it, then it didn’t count.”
Jill continued to gain weight after the arrival of her children – Joe, 33, and Jack, 30. She was left “mortified” during a trip to visit her eldest when he moved to Australia in 2016, after she found herself getting stuck in the plane seat.
“I bought myself two seats for the flight, so I didn’t sit next to anyone. But when we landed in Dubai during the first leg of the trip I was completely wedged – it was so embarrassing.
“When we eventually arrived, I was completely black and blue with bruises.”
When Jill returned home, she noticed a lump under her arm pit and was devastated to learn she had developed breast cancer. After a lumpectomy, 26 rounds of radiotherapy and six-months of chemotherapy, Jill was announced cancer-free.
But she was dealt another blow when she claimed doctors put her diagnosis down to her weight. Jill continues: “The doctor said my unhealthy lifestyle and obesity was a massive factor.
“If I continued the same path, it was very likely to return. Hearing that was a huge wake-up call for me and I knew had to make a change.”
Towards the end of 2016, Jill signed up to Slimming World and was determined to make a change. She swapped her sugary snacks for healthier alternatives and calorie-controlled meals.
She also started exercising – going out for walks with her Jack Russel Betty and eventually joining a running club. Jill shed a whopping eight stone and dropped to a healthy 12st 7lb.
She is now a healthier size 14 and has more energy than ever before. “I was barely able to walk and now I’m going to the gym three times a week." She said.
“I’ve now become a consultant at Slimming World to help others, like they helped me. It took me a couple of years to hit my target weight but I’m happier than ever.”
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