Читать книгу An Angel Called My Name: Incredible true stories from the other side - Theresa Cheung, Theresa Cheung - Страница 20

I was in complete denial. My clothes stopped fitting me – but I just put that down to shrinking in the wash. (Yes, I thought all of my trousers and skirts had shrunk – mad!) I was convinced I was still slim and could eat what I wanted when in fact my weight was creeping up and up. I had to buy clothes two sizes bigger but convinced myself it was the shop sizing, not me.

Thing was, because I had always been underweight, my friends and close family wouldn’t mention it. Eventually, I was at a wedding and joked that I would borrow the bride’s dress for my own wedding and a friend (who was a bit tipsy!) laughed and said I’d be at least two sizes too big for it.

Even this didn’t wake my mind up. The weight continued to pile on. I put on five stone over two years. I was constantly tired and constantly hungry. I couldn’t turn my life around. I was trapped in a cycle of food cravings and overeating.

Then a photograph changed my life. One afternoon as I was sorting out my album a recent picture of myself with a group of friends fell on the floor. I bent down to pick it up. As I did the photograph started to change. It started to age. I saw lines and wrinkles appear on my face. I saw myself getting older but what made the picture so disturbing weren’t wrinkles, but my ballooning weight. I got heavier and heavier in the picture; so heavy I had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair by my friends. Then I heard a gentle voice saying, ‘This is one possible future. You have the power to change it.’ The voice didn’t frighten me. Instead I felt calm, strong, prepared. I knew what I had to do. It was time for me to take control of my weight.

Since that day I haven’t looked back. I signed up for a weight-loss class and within a year I got down to my target weight of ten stone. Today I continue to eat healthily and exercise daily. I could never go back to the way I was. I love being slim again. I love buying clothes that fit me snugly and I love feeling good about myself. Of course, there are times when I’m tempted to indulge but my guardian angel’s gentle voice comes to me loud and clear. It reminds me that I am loved and that I deserve a healthy and happy future.