A woman has shed three stone after she nearly had to have her engagement ring cut off when it became so tight her finger got stuck. Jennie Hunter, 48, is unable to wear the ring at work as a pharmacist at a NHS hospital and would only have it on for special occasions.
So she was devastated when she was unable to take the ring off after wearing it on holiday with husband Neil, 51, last year. After finally being able to prize it off her finger, she then faced the daunting prospect of not being able to get it back on.
The shock jolted her into action and she set about shedding the pounds when the couple returned home to Wakefield, West Yorks. Jennie, who went from a size 20 to a size 14 in just 10 months, said: “The options were to get it cut off or to try and get it off.
“I couldn’t face having it cut off because it was like breaking the symbol of marriage. I sat with a friend we iced my finger for a while and eventually got it off, my husband said we could get the ring made bigger but I said I wanted to be smaller. I panicked when I wouldn’t come off, it had to come off. I was then really upset because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get it back again.”
Jennie would often finish work and would then take her five-year-old son to an after-school club, so she would end up having convenience food and takeaways for tea. She barely even noticed the pounds piling on until she noticed a difference in photographs, which also prompted her health kick.
Jennie, who is also stepmum to a lad of 17, ditched the fatty fried foods and opted instead for healthier options. With the help of her weight coach at her local Slimming World group, she has learnt how to plan healthy meals in advance.
She added: “I knew the weight was creeping on but I couldn’t see how big I was getting. I knew I was getting bigger but because I saw myself every day, I didn’t really notice it. It was only when I started looking at photographs as I would think ‘gosh, I look really big on that photo.’
“But my friends and family would say it was a bad angle and that I wasn’t that big. But then I saw another photo of myself and thought I really needed to do something about it.”
After shedding the weight, Jennie feels much more confident and loves having her photo taken after going from a size 20 to a size 14. She added: “I feel a lot more confident and I’m a lot happier having photos taken. I’ve not got lots of photos from before but now I don’t feel embarrassed or try to hide.
“Now when I look at photos, I smile when I see myself rather than hate what I’m looking at. It’s the confidence of going out, I can actually think that I look all right now. I’ll take the stairs at work now instead of the lift, because my knees won’t hurt when I’m walking up the stairs.
“I also feel happy going swimming, but before I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing a swimming costume. I feel a lot better in myself, like I’ve got more stamina which is great really. The biggest thing for me was planning.
“I’m a working mum and don’t finish until work until late and then I had to think about what to have for tea while trying to sort out my son. We ended up just eating convenience food like breaded chicken and oven fries because I hadn’t prepped anything.
“Now with Slimming World, I’ve planned my meals so I’m not coming home trying to figure out what I’m having to eat.”