As a former rugby coach and avid swimmer, Lisa Merritt had previously considered herself to be sporty and active.
But after going through a divorce and noticing a decline in her mental health, the 56-year-old realised that she had fallen into a habit of eating to feel "less miserable". She had reached a point where she had no self-esteem or body confidence.
And the woman who had once swam regularly with a swimming club was now embarrassed to wear a swimming costume. She would cover herself up with a towel until she reached the pool to avoid being seen by others and was suffering pain in her knees.
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Lisa, from Rowlands Gill, said: "I used to be sporty, active, a club swimmer, an under 19s coach for the RFU. Now I was embarrassed to wear a swimming costume.
"When I did go into the pool I hugged a towel to me till the last moment, walking past the spectator's seats was just horrific. I couldn't take part in any active sport or running, the pain in my knees was agony."
The primary school teacher added: "I had no body confidence, my self esteem was zero. I had been constantly put down, told I was repulsive, useless, ugly, fat. My weight gradually increased as I ate to feel less miserable."
When Lisa became a grandmother-of-two in 2018, six years after her divorce, she decided to make a change to her health by losing weight to allow her to enjoy her time as a grandma. She had previously struggled to keep up with her first grandchild, now aged eight, and wanted to enjoy activities with her grandchildren such as playing, swimming and walking.
She joined a local Slimming World group in January 2020 and has since lost 4st, slimming from a size 20 to a size 12.
Lisa said: [I joined] a Saturday morning so I could sneak there and back almost unnoticed. I felt embarrassed that I was so fat and out of control with what I ate that I couldn't even lose weight and had to join a weight loss class.
"But I felt desperate so I confided in my friend, Susan, what I was going to do and she said 'that's great, I could do with shifting a few pounds, I'll come too' and off we went.
"I felt almost sick with anxiety when I first walked through those doors. What if I had to stand up like an alcoholics anonymous meeting? ' Hi, I'm Lisa, I'm overweight'
"What if the consultant was all strict and controlling and bossy? What if the other members were all miserable and depressed and unfriendly?"
The grandma-of-two added: "It was nothing like I'd thought it would be! Full of people at all different points of their weight loss journey.
"Smiling friendly faces not sad desperate people. Welcoming and friendly. I got to pick my own target, I thought I'd be told what I had to lose.
"We had a cuppa, a chat, a laugh we support each other all with the encouragement, guidance and watchful eye of our consultant. Not depressed people, not a bossy consultant. No humiliation. I feel like I'm having a night out with a group of friends. We share meal ideas, cry together, laugh together and lose the pounds together."
After shedding eight inches off her waistline, from a 42 inch waist to a 34 inch waist, Lisa has now regained her confidence to go swimming without fear of people seeing her body. She enjoys a dip in the sea three times a week and says she can "walk across Cullercoats and South Shields beaches without clutching a towel to try to hide behind".
She has also found the confidence to take part in charity fundraisers, such as the North East Skinny Dip at Druridge Bay to raise money for Tyneside Mind. From October she will also take on a winter challenge by dipping in the sea three times a week until March.
And has also recently become a Slimming World consultant, running a group at Fellside Methodist Church, in Whickham, at 5pm on Thursdays.
Lisa said: "The biggest negative impact being overweight had on me was on my self esteem and self confidence by knees were terribly painful so it restricted the activities I could do. As I neared target I heard about a charity event that raised money for Tyneside Mind, the North East Skinny Dip at Druridge Bay.
"Big big ask for me but would be such a massive personal achievement if I could and all for a good cause.
"Long story short, I did the Skinny dip and have continued to dip in the sea three times a week in a swimming costume for almost a year now. I met a group of like minded women, three of whom are my fellow SW members.
"I also signed up for the winter challenge dipping three times a week throughout the winter from October to March and I've never looked back!"
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