REBECCA Whittle was walking down the high street when she heard a voice yell out, “Look at that big fat whale…”.
The horrifying words stung, but Rebecca, weighing 29 stone, says she was used to hearing people shout “you fat b***”, and “you’re disgusting”.
“When I went out shopping, I could hear people whispering that I’d never fit into the clothes I was looking at,” says Rebecca, who was a size 26.
“It ate away at my confidence.”
And more than that – 26-year-old Rebecca’s mental health plummeted and she began having suicidal thoughts.
That was until a friend stepped in and guided her to a weight loss method that had done wonders for her.
After years of comfort eating in a relationship, in which the weight piled on, Rebecca was given the chance to grab a new lease of life.
She’s lost 20 stone and now wears a size 10-12, and says she eats as little as her 15-month old baby.
“Gone is the big fat whale who walked down the street,” she says.
“Now people look at me for a different reason. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, as it’s completely changed my life.
“People seemed to think they could shout what they liked at me, just because of my weight.
“It was horrible – I hated going out anywhere, just fearful of what people were going to say next.
“And if I went out with a group of friends, I was always referred to as the ‘fat friend’, or the ‘fat one’.
“Eventually, I stopped going on nights out, and I stayed indoors for a couple of years before having the surgery as it was too much to cope with.”
Rebecca, who lives in Longridge, Lancs, had gained a lot of weight when she was in a comfortable relationship with her ex-partner.
She said: “It just kept piling on the weight as the months went on. We were in a comfortable zone, with nights on the sofa, eating in front of the TV.
“I’d have pasta for lunch and then we would have big meals at night, such as plates piled with lasagna or cottage pie.
“It wasn’t necessarily what I was eating, but the portion sizes I ate were massive. And then afterwards I’d be snacking on crisps and chocolate.
“When we broke up, I tried to lose the weight, and tried running and going to the gym. But I just couldn’t shift it. Instead, it kept on piling on.”
The name-calling from nasty strangers caused her to have suicidal thoughts.
Rebecca says: “I told my mum how I was feeling, and she said straight away that I needed to do something about it.
“A friend of hers had just had gastric surgery and done really well, so she said, ‘let’s get you in’, and she helped me book it at a clinic in Turkey in 2022.
“I didn’t even have time to get worried about it, as it all happened so quickly. Within a few weeks I was on the plane to the clinic.”
How to get help for suicidal thoughts
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
‘Not an easy fix’
The mini gastric bypass surgery Rebecca had is a simplified version of the traditional bypass.
It involves stapling the top of the stomach to create a pouch that is smaller than the original stomach, meaning you feel fuller faster.
The new stomach pouch is connected to a lower part of the intestine, bypassing a section of the small intestine.
This means the body absorbs fewer calories and nutrients from food.
One study found that patients lost 70 per cent of their weight, on average, reaching maximum weight loss after 18 months.
Rebecca’s surgery went well and she was home in the UK after a week – but the op was still considered major.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey,” admits Rebecca.
“People think it’s an easy fix, but you really have to work with it afterwards. It’s about changing your lifestyle completely.
“I had several weeks of just fluids and puréed foods before I was allowed to introduce tiny amounts of food.
“Gone were the days when I could eat huge bowls of pasta – I can now only eat much smaller amounts, usually the size of a side plate, before I’m full.
“Now if I have any pizza, it’s half a slice and I’m done.”
The weight started to fall off her, and now she has lost nearly 20 stone, and is a much slimmer ten stone. She has gone from a size 26 to a size 10/12.
“I feel so much better for it,” she says. “Before I would struggle for breath even getting up the stairs and I couldn’t exercise.
“I could barely walk more than a few steps at a time. I wouldn’t dream of going to the swimming pool as I was too embarrassed to be seen in a swimming costume.”
‘Living life to the full’
She gained three stone whilst she was pregnant with her daughter Rosalie, now 15 months.
So she used the weight loss jab Mounjaro to lose the extra weight.
“I just used it for about six weeks, and it really helped me shift the weight I’d put on whilst I was pregnant,” says Rebecca. “So I’m back down to ten stone now.
“I actually eat about as much as Rosalie does – we have the same-sized portions.
“I feel so much happier in myself – I go out with friends, and enjoy a good night out.
“There’s no hiding indoors for me now. Gone is the name-calling and the suicidal thoughts.
“Instead I’m loving being a mum and I’m embracing life.
“Having gastric surgery was the best decision I ever made. It has completely changed me as a person and I’m living my life to the full now, instead of just existing.
“I’ve got so much more confidence now – I go shopping and I don’t worry about what people are saying about me, and I walk down the street with my head held high and a smile on my face.
“It took being called the names to spur me into action, but I’m skinny now and I would never dream of saying anything like that to someone who is struggling with their weight.”
