After the break-up of a toxic relationship, Kate knew she needed things to change – she just had no idea how much her WW journey would transform her. Now on a path of self-love and happiness, she’s embracing her new-found confidence
Despite my mum’s best efforts to make sure I ate healthily growing up, I was prone to putting on weight. In my early twenties, I found myself in an unhappy relationship and my weight escalated, reaching 17st at age 23. I had health problems – not least bad knees from carrying that weight – and my partner had job issues. Slowly but surely, life drove a wedge between us.
I have an addictive personality and, for me, eating has always been emotional. When I was happy or had good news, we’d go for a meal to celebrate. When I was sad, I’d turn to a tub of ice cream. Pasta, pizza and carb-heavy foods were my go-to, and I had a seriously sweet tooth. As things with my then-boyfriend became worse, I’d eat to try and comfort myself. I was in a bad place and didn’t think I could cope with the breakdown of my first real relationship. Looking at myself in the mirror, I would feel so upset and angry. Yet the only thing that made me feel better was food.
Time for change
Eventually, things came to a head, and in March 2019 we called it quits. Despite how toxic things had become between us, our split was amicable: I’d finally reached the point where I knew that, however scary it felt to contemplate life on my own, it was better than the situation we were in. The previous few years had knocked my confidence dramatically, and I was so unhappy physically, mentally and emotionally. The prospect of living alone for the first time was daunting, but I found a little flat that I could afford with my job as a coordinator at an engineering firm, and decorated it to create a safe haven where I could finally focus on myself.
Going it alone
The first few weeks on my own were tough. I remember coming home after a lovely lunch with my family on Mothering Sunday and feeling really sluggish. I looked in the mirror and despised what was in front of me; I knew it was time to do something about my weight. From keto to calorie counting, I had tried lots of diets in the past, and nothing had worked. But then my mum Liz mentioned WW – she’d lost weight on the programme in the past, and s
