A woman who suffered post-natal depression after having children in her twenties turned to food for comfort, and put on weight until she was a size 24. Stella Jane Thomas, from Kent, gained eight stone and weighed more than 17st by her thirties.
At only 5 feet 4 inches with a naturally small frame, she didn’t recognise herself in the mirror. She suffered joint and breathing issues. Stella Jane says she would cry herself to sleep most nights, became reclusive and felt ashamed of her appearance.
Stella Jane said: “I felt trapped in a cycle of gaining weight and comfort eating, I felt such a failure. My self-esteem was gone. I was ashamed of how I looked and how I’d become. I didn’t recognise myself in the mirror.
View 6 ImagesStella Jane gained weight as she ate to fight depression
“I became reclusive, only going out when I absolutely had to and most nights I would cry myself to sleep, ashamed of how far I’d drifted from the person I was.”
Stella Jane tried a variety of diet programmes, losing 2.5 stone initially. But s he experienced repeated yo-yo dieting as weight returned, triggering anxiety, self-loathing and more comfort eating.
“I could lose weight at first, but it never lasted. They told me what to eat but not why I was eating,” says Stella Jane. “Every time the weight crept back it triggered anxiety, self-loathing and comfort eating. The scales felt like the ‘sad step’ never knowing if that week would end in relief or disappointment.”
Then an exercise instructor recommended LighterLife, which pairs counselling sessions with a diet programme and she took the plunge in March 2010. At the time Stella was approaching her 40th birthday.
View 6 ImagesStella Jane drew how she wanted to be
“I walked into my first LighterLife meeting sceptical and defensive, unaware of how my relationship with food was affecting my body and my behaviour,” says Stella Jane. “On the LighterLife course, we were encouraged to sketch in our workbook how we wanted to look and write how we wanted to feel.
“I forgot about it completely, and finding it again after reaching my goal moved me to tears. Back then it felt like only a dream, not something I ever believed would be real. Even now, when I choose what to wear, I think about how far I’ve come.”
Stella had initially hoped to reach size 16 but ultimately reached a size 10. She lost 4 stone 4lb in four months and a nother year of healthy eating allowed Stella to achieve gradual weight loss to the 9st mark.
View 6 ImagesStella Jane lost nine stone
She has kept the weight off for 16 years.
“For years I thought my problem was food, but it wasn’t, it was how I was using food to cope,” Stella adds. “Once I understood my mindset and behaviour, everything finally changed, in fact my whole world changed.”
Stella Jane completed a nutrition course to gain awareness of food and what she should be eating to stay healthy. She continues to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and a healthy diet but also enjoys eating out and drinks when socialising.
“When I first lost the weight, it happened so quickly that people I bumped into in the street genuinely didn’t recognise me and even my own children would lose me in the supermarket.” Stella Jane remembers.
View 6 ImagesStella Jane was transformed
“I found it really amusing and at the same time I felt incredibly proud of myself for achieving what had once felt like only a dream. I realised that LighterLife had helped to empower me to become the true version of myself.
“My husband Mat, supports me completely and is genuinely proud of what I’ve achieved. We love being active and eating well, but we also enjoy eating out and travelling together and between us, we’ve found a happy, balanced way of living.
Article continues below
View 6 ImagesStella Jane says the trick was learning why she ate
“Losing the weight gave me more than a smaller and healthier body, it gave me belief, freedom and trust in myself. By changing my mindset as well as my habits, the change has lasted for life.”