I was sick of being obese so turned to desperate measures to lose weight

BRITAIN’S obesity crisis is showing no signs of slowing up. But could the answer lie overseas, where calorie control and state-backed exercise regimes are the norm?

For its series Around The World In 80 Weighs, Channel 4 sent six Brits off to see if they could slim using other countries’ fat-fighting rules.

They met women rented out by “fat people” agencies and people who had lost limbs to diabetes.

Two of those taking part tell Jess Lester how they got on.

SLIMMER Sue, 58, is a mum of two, from Kettering, Northants. She says:

‘There were two things I’d been desperate to do for a long time: Travel the world and lose weight. I always joked the only way I’d lose weight would be if you sent me to a deserted island and fed me hardly anything.

Since I hit the menopause I’d really struggled with my weight. I lacked confidence, and even going out with friends became hard.

I even skipped my 50th birthday party and would sometimes avoid walking the dog because I just didn’t want to be seen.

It was affecting the relationships with my husband and two grown-up children, and friends. I’d tried diets such as WeightWatchers in my fifties and I did lose two and a half stone through various means. But I always piled it straight back on.

I knew a diet plan alone wasn’t going to work for me. It had to be an entire lifestyle change. I needed to stop junk food and specifically eating so much sugar.

So, aged 58, I made the decision to travel around the world with a group of people I’d just met after my daughter spotted Channel 4’s advert for contestants online.

We went to four countries to learn the international tricks of weightloss.

Some parts were hard. In Japan, people will stare, point and laugh at people who are overweight.

It was tough to switch habits so drastically. But after four weeks I’d changed habits I’d had all my life. Now I never have sugar, even in tea, and I cook everything from scratch.

From Japan, I learned to eat slowly, meaning I can better digest food and recognise when I’m full. In Tonga and India I learned to pick the right kinds of ingredients, and in America I realised the importance of exercise.

Some practices around the world are crazy. You won’t catch me using a fat-shaming exercise app like the one in Japan, which yells at you to do sit-ups and calls you ‘fatty’, or taking a ‘skinny jab’ that’s all the rage across the Pond.

I now eat fermented food every day. I put kimchi with everything and I love it. It’s inspired by my time in Japan and helps to boost my metabolism. I feel decades younger.

I’ve lost 4st and have vowed never to put that weight back on.

My menopausal symptoms have gone, I sleep through the night, I don’t have sweats and my skin, which could get spotty and blotchy from my bad food choices, has cleared up.

My husband thinks I look amazing too, he’s very proud of what I’ve managed to achieve and have stuck to and he’s been championing me the whole way. Best of all, I have all the energy in the world.’

Therryi, 33, is a community officer from South London. She says:

‘Some of my fondest childhood memories involved food and going to get my favourite takeaway, or buying something delicious from my local shop.

Growing up, things were not always easy for me and I developed a pattern of emotional eating at a very young age.

Instead of crying because something had gone wrong, I would go and find something to eat, gorging on chips from the chicken shop.

I’d find comfort in eating them in a particular way, almost obsessively with the sauces in a certain order. It was comforting to me to be somewhere I knew and felt I belonged.

Food quickly became my entire coping mechanism and had me in a chokehold.

Before I knew it, my weight was leading me down a dangerous path.

Proud of my body

At nearly 20st, I was obese and in pain from my excess weight. And I knew I was at rick of developing diabetes.

It was time to address not just my weight, but my emotional connection with food.

I felt I was only going to be able to make that change away from home, where I could look within myself and get away from my dependence on the foods I loved.

I was approached about taking part in the show on social media and it felt like the right time and the right thing to do for myself.

I wasn’t nervous because I knew how important this was for me to emotionally open up.

I knew there was going to be no cheeky McDonald’s stop, no sneaky chocolate. It had to be total immersion.

I’d been eating to hide my feelings and I needed to understand why before I felt comfortable making the change. It was on this journey that I found out about how addictive sugar can be, and where emotional eating can come into play.

While I respected each culture and tried what they had to offer, like the raw fish in Tonga, the most important thing for me was to address what was inside.

It’s taken me a long time to get in touch with my emotions. But now I’m proud of my body and even prouder to be healthier in my mind.

I embrace who I am with more love and acceptance.

I’ve made huge changes — eating healthier foods, less takeaways and no more fried chicken shops. I’ve also cut down on sugar and eat fruit instead of sweets or chocolate or cake.

 I even had a healthier cake with less sugar for my birthday.

My clothes and the scales told me it was all going in the right direction and with 3st lost, I’ve gained a whole new lifestyle and perspective.

And that’s only been boosted by the compliments I’ve got, some from strangers on the street telling me I’m looking good.

I’d much rather eat some parsnips and beetroot than a bag of crisps, because doing something great for myself makes me feel great in my skin.’