Danielle Wright, 27, had always struggled with binge eating.
She joined her first slimming group aged just 14, when she weighed 14st and was struggling to fit into a size 16.
‘I always loved my food as a kid,’ she explains.
‘I didn’t even know that calories were a thing until I started piling on weight. My absolute weakness was pastries.’
As she got older, the mum-of-one from Leicester would find herself staying at home and eating, and struggling to find the balance she craved when she moved in with her then-boyfriend aged 18.
She said: ‘I had been trying to lose weight and cut down my food for ages, but I felt like my ex wasn’t giving me the support I needed. I was huge and unhappier than ever.’
Danielle’s weight peaked at 23st 7lbs and she struggled to squeeze into a size 34 dress, which is when she felt like she wanted to get a handle on her issues with food.
Although she started slimming groups with her sister Emma, it was a terrifying and embarrassing moment, however, that gave her the true motivation she needed to change her life.
On a trip to Alton Towers theme park four years ago, the chair on the Thirteen ride buckled under her frame, meaning the ride attendant was forced to use his foot to wedge the bar down over her stomach.
Then, after Danielle departed, the roller coaster was closed due to a ‘seat malfunction’ – which she believes was down to her.
Danielle, who works at a dry cleaners, said, ‘I had avoided going on roller coasters all day long, until my family managed to drag me onto the ‘Thirteen’ ride.
‘Fitting in the seat was bad enough, but when it came to pulling down the safety bar, my stomach stopped it from working. One of the employees, who was quite good looking, came over and had to put his foot against the ride and push extra hard in order to click the bar down over my tummy.
‘It was awful. Everybody was watching. For the whole duration of the ride I felt like the bar was going to pop open and I was going to be thrown off the tracks,’ she says.
‘When the hellish experience was over, an announcement came over the speaker to say that the ride was temporarily closing due to a broken seat.
‘At that exact moment, my safety bar sprang up, made a huge noise, and everybody stared at me. I wanted to go home right away, but had to endure the rest of the day.’
The humiliating incident was the catalyst she needed to work on her eating habits and body image, and over the next years she has lost 14 stone with a diet and exercise regime.
Danielle now weighs a healthier 9st 1lbs and has overhauled her lifestyle so that she now no longer struggles with bingeing, and still manages to eat the things she loves in a balanced way.
She started cutting out heavy and oily foods and preparing salads and protein-packed meals. There was no weighing as Danielle hated weighing herself. Instead she decided to measure different parts of her body with a tape measure to track her progress.
It didn’t mean missing out on the things she loves either. If she craves cheese now, she simply has a Babybel to control the portion. Or if she wants something sweet after a meal, she’ll have a few Maltesers afterwards rather than gorging.
On special days such as Christmas and her birthday, too, Danielle doesn’t worry about what she eats, giving her freedom to focus on simply enjoying the day.
This, coupled with occasional 5:2 stints and power hoop and boogie bounce classes to keep herself trim and feels fabulous.
Things have been looking up for Danielle ever since she started taking care of her body more, and she has gone on to meet a new partner and have a little boy.
Danielle says her boyfriend Michael Christopher, 35, is an amazing support, and she has a new lease of life with him and their son.
She explains: ‘Being able to run and play with my little boy is the best part of it all, I couldn’t have asked for a better reward.
‘I see my little boy as my treat. Who cares if I can’t eat cake and chocolate? Having my son makes it all worth it in the end!’
Danielle continues: ‘Things had gotten out of hand without me realising. Although I hated being humiliated at Alton Towers, it’s what I needed to motivate me to shed the pounds.’
Danielle's diet
DIET BEFORE
Breakfast – 2x Big bowls of Honey-Nut cornflakes
Lunch – 2x Chicken and bacon caesar wraps, a big bag of Doritos and 2x cream cakes
Dinner – Chips from the chip shop
Snacks – Chocolate
Drinks – Pepsi, Mcdonald’s Milkshakes
DIET AFTER
Breakfast – 2x Weetabix with blueberries
Lunch – Tuna salad with 70% fat salad cream, melba toast, fat-free yoghurt
Dinner – Homemade chilli or chicken and steamed veg, sometimes Maltesers for dessert
Snacks – Apple, grapes, orange, yoghurt
Drinks – Cordial, tea with skimmed milk and a sweetener
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/16/woman-loses-14-stone-breaking-rollercoaster-seat-alton-towers-12067029/
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