A woman horribly labelled as "the fat one" at work has lost 7.5st after ditching fizzy drinks and controlling her portion sizes. Leah Taylor, 24, confessed she was "never really sure of my exact size" and wore baggy clothes to hide her body.
But when she started a new cleaning and security airport job she was almost immediately called "the fat one" and quit within weeks. That single derogatory comment played on Leah's mind for months but her weight spiralled further during the pandemic. Lockdown saw her reach her heaviest weight of 17.5st and Leah developed anxiety and a fear of what people would say about her weight behind her back.
She developed agoraphobia (fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn't be available if things go wrong) and, feeling fed up, finally plucked up the courage to make a huge change to her life. Leah, from the Vale of Glamorgan, started a meal replacement plan with diet firm Exante in October 2021, dropping from 17st 7lbs to 10st today.
Leah's health kick started off by consuming 800 calories a day for 10 weeks as part of a low-calorie meal replacement diet. She consumed nutritionally-complete shakes and bars for breakfast and lunch and made a healthy meal in the evenings. After losing three stone Leah upped her calorie intake slightly to 1,000 and then after losing a further two stone she switched to 1,200 calories.
At her starting weight Leigh was a size 26 and lived in baggy clothes, hoodies, and leggings. She said: "I was never really sure of my exact size. As long as something hid the shape of my body I would wear it.
“I wanted to lose the weight because I put so much on during lockdown. I longed to be able to wear whatever I wanted in the summer and not live in baggy shirts and leggings. I was constantly hot – even in the winter I would have a fan on me.
“I was referred to as ‘the fat one' when I started a new job and left immediately. That was on my mind for months because I suffer with anxiety and I really pushed myself to get that job.
“I felt really bad about myself when I went clothes shopping. Sometimes I'd come out of the changing rooms crying with clothes I wished would fit me or look nice on me, and that's what really changed my mindset – I knew only I could do something about that.”
Leah admitted her portion control before the diet was non-existent. She said: "I normally had a big bowl of cereal for breakfast with no portion control. I'd occasionally have a second bowl if I was still hungry. Dinner was whatever my household was having – normally with a side of chips and full-fat fizzy drinks.
"I always had to have something sweet after dinner – a big bar of chocolate most of the time. I actually can't remember snacking that much – I think it's because I was living on fizzy drinks and energy drinks and would eat at meal times until I was full."
But her strict regime saw the weight fall off Leah and clothes shopping no longer leaves her feeling tearful. She added: "I feel so much more confident about clothes shopping now – there’s no more crying and I can pick up a size small shirt knowing it's going to fit me. I've sold all my old clothes and bought a whole new wardrobe. I'm so excited for summer this year – it's like a whole new world losing seven and a half stone. I can wear things I wouldn't have dared to wear when I first started my journey.
“I thank myself all the time for taking pictures of myself when I started my weight loss journey because sometimes we can be too harsh on ourselves and look in the mirror thinking we look no different even if the people around you say you've lost weight. If I didn't have my photos to look back on when I was doubting my losses I know I would have definitely given up because I was in a negative mindset about myself for so long. I've had so much support from my family and my partner, which is really important when you're on such a big journey where lots of willpower is needed."
Leah has now turned her mind to exercising more. "I recently bought some weights and I'm thinking about turning my spare room into a workout space," she said. "I'm going to focus on building muscle and toning my body with home workouts alongside finally being able to be comfortable on my exercise bike which I found very hard to use before I lost the weight."
Anyone embarking on a low-calorie diet plan or who has a medical condition and is looking to change their diet should seek medical advice from their GP or a healthcare professional first.
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