'I lost nine stones to stop my kids being bullied'

Published on Thursday 30 April 2009 09:41

WHEN Jill Chiwara discovered her boys were being bullied because their mum was so fat, she knew there was only one real answer.

The pharmacy company manager went straight on a diet – and lost an incredible nine stones in as many months.

The mum-of-three was stunned when her eight-year-old son, Leon, admitted he didn't want to be seen out with her and that he was being picked on because of his "fat mum".

Now the 41-year-old has dropped six dress sizes to a size 14, and weighs just 12 stones rather than 21.

She says her weight loss has given her the confidence to get a new job – and even play football with Leon and his twin brother, Rhys.

Jill, of Livingston, said discovering what her son thought had hit her hard.

"He said his friends used to tease him about his fat mum," she said.

"That was a big, big thing and was really upsetting.

"But as I started losing weight, he said he wanted to come out with me.

"Although they're only eight, they get health education at school and they know what it means to be overweight. They worried about me and that something might happen to me.

"I'm confident I will keep the weight off because I don't want my children to go through that again. They need their mum."

Jill – who has always battled with her weight – starting piling on the pounds after a holiday in Tenerife 12 years ago.

She never came out of "holiday mode" and continued to eat big portions and snack regularly without doing any exercise, sending her dress size spiralling to a size 26.

"Things were getting out of hand," she said. "I had no energy, no motivation to do anything. I couldn't get any clothes to fit and I was really unhappy with myself."

Life changed, though, just months after the birth of her youngest son, Louis, now aged one, when she vowed to lose weight properly.

She used the "Celebrity Slim" diet, which works by replacing two meals a day with a soup, shake or snack bar alternative.

Jill, whose husband Brian is delighted at her success, is now in training for the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run on Sunday after catching the fitness bug.

She trains about four times a week at the gym and goes out running.

Jill has been promoted to regional manager by Rowlands Pharmacy, overseeing ten area managers, and is convinced she won't go back to her old ways.

She said: "It's changed my life. I started a new job in December and I wouldn't have had the confidence to put myself forward for it before.

"I feel fantastic and good about myself, full of energy and I'm chuffed with myself that I'm doing the 10K on Sunday."