Busy mum branded a ‘fat cow’ and ‘disgusting mess’ sheds staggering 10st – and shares her secret weight loss tips

A BUSY mum lost a staggering 10st after being cruelly branded as a "fat cow" and "disgusting mess" by strangers - leaving her too embarrassed to leave her own home.

Emma McGarry had struggled with her size since her teenage years and turned to food as a source of comfort.

The 37-year-old admits she was "completely addicted to food" and would gorge on takeaways or white bread - sometimes eating up to a loaf a day.

The mum, from Oldham, tipped the scales at 19st 10lbs at her heaviest and was a dress size 24.

But after changing her diet, she lost an amazing 10st 10lbs.

She is now a slinky size 10 and weighs 9lbs 2ozs.

Emma says: “I literally could not walk, I was on crutches, and I was too embarrassed to leave my own house.

"I ate loads of carbs and my biggest downfall was bread.

“I feel like a new woman now; I love swimming and walking. I love being a mum.”

Emma was slim and healthy in her teens until she suffered a knee injury whilst training with the RAF.

She could not complete her training and over the next few years, needed seven operations on her knee. 

She was also stuck in an unhappy relationship.

Emma, who worked as an ambulance emergency call handler, says: “I turned to food for comfort.

";I was miserable in my relationship, and I was in and out of hospital with my knee.

"I just got bigger and bigger, and I lost my confidence.

“I’d eat if I was bored, if I was happy, if I was upset.

"Food was the answer to everything. I could polish off a loaf of white bread in one day.

"I loved pizzas, takeaways, anything stodgy."

As she struggled to maintain a healthy relationship with food and piled on the pounds, Emma endured cruel abuse from strangers that left her feeling even more depressed.

“I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and I couldn’t even walk up the street," the mum said.

Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes widespread pain all over the body and muscle stiffness.

"If I went out, I’d get horrible abuse; ‘fat cow’ and ‘disgusting mess’.

"I had anxiety and depression and I felt ashamed of myself.”

'TRANSFORMED MY LIFE'

By the start of 2016, by now relying completely on crutches, Emma realised she had to change.

She says: “I wanted to join Slimming World, but it took me six months to pluck up courage to actually join the group, I was so worried about being judged.

"Yet when I finally went in, I couldn’t have felt more at ease.

“The group leader, Tracey Mackey, was lovely. The group became like an extended family to me.”