Yahoo News Mum took drastic decision after being 'humiliated' by flight attendant on Lanzarote plane
A mum lost 12 stone after she was fat-shamed on a flight. Jennifer Louise was left “humiliated and ashamed” when a cabin steward made a comment about her during a flight back from Lanzarote in May 2023.
The flight attendant insisted that Jennier’s armrest had to be down as they prepared for landing and claimed weight was “all about life choices”. Jennifer, 42, weighed 24 stone and wore a dress size 26 after years of yo-yo dieting and “mega” portions.
She regularly found herself relying on caffeine and Rich Tea biscuits to get through her 40-hour work week as a proposals manager. But when she returned to the UK after that flight, Jennifer ditched the carbs and processed sugar in the bid to slim down.
READ MORE: Man who shed almost 10 stone shares weight loss secret - and anyone can do it
In the first year, she lost 12 stone, more than half her body weight, and now weighs 12st 2lbs and is a svelte dress size 14. Mum-of-one Jennifer, who is now a writer, from Bedfordshire, said: "I've been overweight most of my adult life, so I was used to strangers tutting and staring at me.
"But I didn't expect a professional to comment on my body whilst slamming an armrest into me. I felt ashamed and burst into tears.
"Unless you've struggled with your weight, you don't know how humiliating a comment like that is. That's when I knew I had to make a change.
"In four months, I'd lost four stone, and we got our puppy, Merlin, now nine months. He was the game changer because it meant I had to go out and take him on walks- rain or shine.
"I'm half the woman I once was but I've gained so much because I'm finally able to go into a shop and find clothes for my size. Above all, I'm finally the healthy mum my daughter needs- she tells me I'm 'even more beautiful' now."
Jennifer had always struggled with her weight growing up and then piled on the pounds during her pregnancy with her daughter, nine, who was born in May 2015. After snacking all day at work she would then consume ''mega portions'' of dinner at home with her husband Stewart, 38, a procurement manager.
Despite trying fad diets and weight loss programmes such as Slimming World, Atkins and Keto, any progress Jennifer made would be scuppered by her emotional eating and dormant lifestyle.
"I've been on a diet since I was 16 but nothing worked," Jennifer said. "I'd stick to whatever diet I was on at the time but lose motivation.
"I didn't see the point of restricting myself for the sake of losing a couple of pounds a week. Soon enough, I was back to old habits. I also had no idea how to portion control and I was just sat at a desk all day."
But following a "humiliating" encounter with a flight attendant, in May 2023, Jennifer decided "enough was enough". Enrolling in the Lighter Life weight loss plan in June 2023, Jennifer switched her carb-laden meals for meal replacement shakes.
She said: "I couldn't believe how easy it was and the weight just melted off me. Getting Merlin meant I had no excuse not to get my steps in.
"I now do 18,000 steps a day. We're able to go on lovely long walks as a family on the weekend which my daughter loves.
"I can now shave my legs with ease and fit in the bath. Parents at school treat me differently which is bittersweet for me because when I was fat, that's all strangers thought of me.
"I feel great about how I look but knowing my daughter is proud of me is the real win. This year we're going back to Lanzarote -using a different airline- feeling confident for the first time in my adult life."
