Size 12 Steph Hall completed three summer seasons in her dream job as Thomas Cook cabin crew – visiting exotic destinations such as the Caribbean, Florida and Canada.
But when the 28-year-old came home she binged on daily McDonald’s Big Mac meals and fish and chip takeaways and within half a year had ballooned to a size 22, weighing 16st 13lbs.
Steph piled on the pounds so quickly doctors worried she had a condition which had caused weight gain – and she quit her job over fears her uniform wouldn’t fit and passengers would mock her during safety demonstrations. But after shedding exactly five stone the stunning blonde is back in the industry she loves – working as a customer services worker at a travel agent.
Steph, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: “I was always a size 12 to 14 when I did three seasons for Thomas Cook. It was a brilliant job. But in 2010 I came back from the summer season and began comfort eating.
“I was working in a call centre and began losing contact with my friends and family so I was just miserable. I would sit at home and eat c***, and the more weight I gained the worse I would feel about it.
“All of a sudden I didn’t have a uniform to fit into, I went from wearing a shirt and skirt to being able to wear stretchy leggings every day and because of that I didn’t realise how big I was getting.
“I completely lost my confidence, I didn’t want to go out. I wasn’t used to being that way because I put on all the weight so suddenly and I started to think this was just how I would be from now on.
“When it came to renewing my flying contract the following March I decided not to carry on and to get a different job instead.
“I just couldn’t do it – it was the thought of no longer fitting into my old uniform and having to ask for a bigger size.
“I didn’t want to see my colleagues again for them to realise how much bigger I was.
“I no longer had the confidence to stand at the front of the plane and give safety demonstrations, I felt like all the passengers would be looking at me and I was worried about walking down the aisles.
“I thought I was stuck at that weight forever and it was easier to not go back. But I was blocking out how much I missed my old job, and as I lost the weight I regained the confidence to get back into a job I loved.”
Steph took up her dream Thomas Cook job after a demonstration about working for airlines while she was at college. And at 11st 13lbs, she fitted into a size 12 to 14 of the fitted shirt and tight-fitting skirt which was her Thomas Cook cabin crew uniform.
But when she came home and began binging on a diet of daily McDonald’s breakfasts and lunches and fish and chip takeaways she quickly piled on the pounds.
After her confidence hit rock bottom in 2011, Steph took part in aquafit classes and healthy lifestyle courses run by Warrington Council’s weight loss programme Reach for Health and quickly shed three stone.
She then lost another two stone by joining Slimming World and swapping her junk food-laden diet for healthy home-cooked meals.
Steph, who reached her target weight in 2015, now works out at the gym or goes swimming three times a week and said meeting partner of two years Chris Tunstall, 44, also helped boost her confidence.
Steph said: “When I was big, if someone was in the way in the aisle of a shop I would walk round them rather than say ‘excuse me’, just because I felt so awful and embarrassed.
“One time when I was holiday shopping I remember crying in the changing room because I hated everything I tried on – I was devastated.
“I would binge on junk food like processed pies and McDonalds and I wouldn’t cook anything from scratch, I would just eat oven food.
“I lived over the road from a chippy and had tasted everything on the menu there – I would pick up fish, chips and mushy pies on the way home most nights.
“I even had to have tests and investigations at hospital because I had put on so much weight so quickly, doctors thought there must be a medical reason for it.
“Sometimes I do forget until I look back at the pictures and realise I have come a really long way. I am much happier in myself now and a more confident person.”
Steph’s story comes after is was revealed how Ricky Gervais shed 20llbs after years of having a yo-yo weight problem.
Daily Express :: Life and Style Feed
