For as long as he can remember, David was overweight. When he started secondary school, it spiralled out of control. He was buying lunches of white bread rolls with all the trimmings, chocolate, fizzy drinks, and sweets.
Deep down he felt unattractive. He avoided mirrors and his weight was a sensitive issue. If anyone commented on his weight he brushed it off and always had a joke ready, but on the inside it hurt. If anything difficult happened, his solution was to eat. By Leaving Cert, he was wearing trousers with waist measurement of 40 inches and XL sized tops.
When he started college in AIT his weight continued to rise. In summer 2012 he was 22 stone, wearing 44 inch trousers and XXL or XXXL clothes.
“I stopped going home at the weekends, avoiding my friends so they wouldn’t see how big I had become,” says David.
A friend had lost a huge amount of weight through Slimming World, and David agreed to go along: “I will always remember that day as the day I began to live my life again.”
He was nervous but was met by consultant Pauline who put him at ease and explained everything. After the group he went shopping and bought ingredients for the meals he loved, like spaghetti bolognese, pasta carbonara, and curry. He lost over a stone in the first two weeks, and couldn’t believe the amount of food he could eat and still lose weight. He began exercising, and week after week the weight dropped off.
One year on, he has lost nearly five stone, is wearing clothes he loves, and feels great.
During October, students aged 16-21 can join Slimming World for only €9. Visit www.slimmingworld.com/student and download a voucher to bring, along with your student ID card, or call Pauline on (087 ) 1878701.
