http://stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/...-kilograms
Donna Turner is stunning, vivacious, self-assured: the sort of person with enough drive to motivate others - one of those people who seem to have it all.
But Donna wasn't always 'that girl'. For a long time she was the girl with little confidence who was easily picked on for her weight.
All through her teens Donna was overweight, and by the time she reached 20 she weighed 120 kilograms.
The Donna you see today is the one who lost 53 kilograms in 53 weeks and has managed to keep it off for the past 13 years.
......................
Donna had always been a relatively 'chubby' kid who, as the youngest of three children, ate 'emotionally'. Her mum tried to take her to Weight Watchers, even hypnotherapy, but food was Donna's go-to when she felt left-out or unhappy.
The more weight she gained, the more viscous the cycle became: "I felt I was missing out on things - my friends were going clothes shopping and meeting guys - I couldn't do those things."
At 20, living in the sleep-out (a caravan) at her parents home in Manurewa, eating potato chips at will, Donna decided something needed to change and so she made a decision to travel, starting with the UK.
Far from the usual pre-OE nerves, Donna's big fear for the six months' before her flight was "whether I would fit into my seat". With relief, she did.
In the UK, staying with distant family and feeling a little homesick, Donna once again turned to her "best friend" - food. But it wasn't long before her turnabout began.
She recalls the moment vividly.
There she was on a tram in Amsterdam, and there he was - a dreamboat of a man who hopped on the tram too, "the kind of guy I'd hoped to be with one day". But while she swooned, the dreamboat looked right through her. Literally as though she wasn't there. And that was it - her tipping point.
It might not seem the noblest of reasons for going forth and transforming your life, but Donna wanted what most girls want - she wanted Brad Pitt.
Donna is delightfully candid about this. "Growing up I watched all the rom-coms and, like everyone, I wanted a nice boyfriend. But I thought no one was going to look at me the way I was, and thought if I was skinny everything would be different."
She also knew her life was entirely in her hands. She was fed up with not liking what she saw in the mirror, feeling unhappy in her own skin and knowing that she was doing this to herself.
"The one thing keeping me overweight was junk food. My actions were doing this. I could control everything else in my life except food," she says. It was time to take control of it for the first time. So with a friend, Donna went to Weight Watchers and began a self-imposed ban on all junk food.
"Every time I thought about having something naughty, I'd ask myself 'would it take me further away from my goal'.
She kept travelling, visiting Germany, France and Belgium - home to all sorts of deliciously heavy foods - but never did she stray.
Over the course of that year she also fancied a guy who supported her for every weigh-in. But in the end it turned out that he fancied Brad Pitt too.
Her pictures show her journey - from double-chin to one; from Size 28 to 12.
When she finally hit her goal weight, Donna wore a dress for the first time.
And in another first, Donna started to actually like what she saw in the mirror.
"I remember walking past a shop window and not recognising myself."
But all the changes in her only really hit home when she arrived back to New Zealand, with a family waiting in Arrivals who hardly recognised her.
.......................
What makes Donna's weight-loss journey so outstanding is that she's kept the weight off - 13 years later.
She's well aware that "losing weight is one thing, keeping it off is another".
But what made it easier for her was always telling friends, "I'm never ever going to put this weight back on". Making a public vow, over and over again, constantly reinforced it for Donna - putting weight back on was not an option.
She has since educated herself about food - knows her rights and wrongs - and doesn't tuck into the cakes at work "just because they're there".
"I still love pies and sausage rolls, but couldn't tell you when I last had one."
She's learnt to identify between habits and treats, noting "a piece of chocolate every day, at the same time every day, is a habit - not a treat."
And while she still looks forward to going out for a meal - she tries to make life about more than just food.
Instead, she gets pleasure from helping others, reading, cooking, watching The Simpsons, going for a walk, researching something online or watching her tropical fish.
Donna has also started helping others, first working as a Weight Watchers leader for the past two years, and now with teenagers - young people who are just like she was.
She's there to help them with their ups and downs, listening in complete confidence to anything they want to get off their chest - the sort of issues they wouldn't necessarily talk to their parents about.
She also helps them make good food choices, providing a visit to the supermarket as an additional service.
Because she's been in their shoes and knows how it feels, she relates easily with teenagers, and vice-versa it seems.
What's really impressive is she manages to fit all of this in while still having a day job.
Yes, Donna Turner is a motivated, giving and attractive human being - and indeed she does have it all. But she's someone who got there with hard work and commitment.
And purely because of that, we can't begrudge her that cinched-in waist and those angular cheekbones.
And just in case you're wondering - yes she found him - a dreamboat finer than any Dutchman on a tram... and every bit the Brad Pitt she'd one day hoped to meet.
--------------
I only posted this only to highlight the ravages obesity does to youth. This forum would generally accept that young women will on average trump older women but damn. Despite adding 13 years, subtracting 53kg has made all the difference. Imagine if she was this thin when she was younger.
I can't believe the change. Who knew that there was such beauty underneath that fatness.
Sometimes you do see pretty fat (heh) girls: obese girls who you know would be hot if they weren't tank, but its rare that such beauty goes realised.
Although there are no comments about fat acceptance, that beauty is a social construct and that every woman is beautiful just they way they are.
Donna Turner is stunning, vivacious, self-assured: the sort of person with enough drive to motivate others - one of those people who seem to have it all.
But Donna wasn't always 'that girl'. For a long time she was the girl with little confidence who was easily picked on for her weight.
All through her teens Donna was overweight, and by the time she reached 20 she weighed 120 kilograms.
The Donna you see today is the one who lost 53 kilograms in 53 weeks and has managed to keep it off for the past 13 years.
......................
Donna had always been a relatively 'chubby' kid who, as the youngest of three children, ate 'emotionally'. Her mum tried to take her to Weight Watchers, even hypnotherapy, but food was Donna's go-to when she felt left-out or unhappy.
The more weight she gained, the more viscous the cycle became: "I felt I was missing out on things - my friends were going clothes shopping and meeting guys - I couldn't do those things."
At 20, living in the sleep-out (a caravan) at her parents home in Manurewa, eating potato chips at will, Donna decided something needed to change and so she made a decision to travel, starting with the UK.
Far from the usual pre-OE nerves, Donna's big fear for the six months' before her flight was "whether I would fit into my seat". With relief, she did.
In the UK, staying with distant family and feeling a little homesick, Donna once again turned to her "best friend" - food. But it wasn't long before her turnabout began.
She recalls the moment vividly.
There she was on a tram in Amsterdam, and there he was - a dreamboat of a man who hopped on the tram too, "the kind of guy I'd hoped to be with one day". But while she swooned, the dreamboat looked right through her. Literally as though she wasn't there. And that was it - her tipping point.
It might not seem the noblest of reasons for going forth and transforming your life, but Donna wanted what most girls want - she wanted Brad Pitt.
Donna is delightfully candid about this. "Growing up I watched all the rom-coms and, like everyone, I wanted a nice boyfriend. But I thought no one was going to look at me the way I was, and thought if I was skinny everything would be different."
She also knew her life was entirely in her hands. She was fed up with not liking what she saw in the mirror, feeling unhappy in her own skin and knowing that she was doing this to herself.
"The one thing keeping me overweight was junk food. My actions were doing this. I could control everything else in my life except food," she says. It was time to take control of it for the first time. So with a friend, Donna went to Weight Watchers and began a self-imposed ban on all junk food.
"Every time I thought about having something naughty, I'd ask myself 'would it take me further away from my goal'.
She kept travelling, visiting Germany, France and Belgium - home to all sorts of deliciously heavy foods - but never did she stray.
Over the course of that year she also fancied a guy who supported her for every weigh-in. But in the end it turned out that he fancied Brad Pitt too.
Her pictures show her journey - from double-chin to one; from Size 28 to 12.
When she finally hit her goal weight, Donna wore a dress for the first time.
And in another first, Donna started to actually like what she saw in the mirror.
"I remember walking past a shop window and not recognising myself."
But all the changes in her only really hit home when she arrived back to New Zealand, with a family waiting in Arrivals who hardly recognised her.
.......................
What makes Donna's weight-loss journey so outstanding is that she's kept the weight off - 13 years later.
She's well aware that "losing weight is one thing, keeping it off is another".
But what made it easier for her was always telling friends, "I'm never ever going to put this weight back on". Making a public vow, over and over again, constantly reinforced it for Donna - putting weight back on was not an option.
She has since educated herself about food - knows her rights and wrongs - and doesn't tuck into the cakes at work "just because they're there".
"I still love pies and sausage rolls, but couldn't tell you when I last had one."
She's learnt to identify between habits and treats, noting "a piece of chocolate every day, at the same time every day, is a habit - not a treat."
And while she still looks forward to going out for a meal - she tries to make life about more than just food.
Instead, she gets pleasure from helping others, reading, cooking, watching The Simpsons, going for a walk, researching something online or watching her tropical fish.
Donna has also started helping others, first working as a Weight Watchers leader for the past two years, and now with teenagers - young people who are just like she was.
She's there to help them with their ups and downs, listening in complete confidence to anything they want to get off their chest - the sort of issues they wouldn't necessarily talk to their parents about.
She also helps them make good food choices, providing a visit to the supermarket as an additional service.
Because she's been in their shoes and knows how it feels, she relates easily with teenagers, and vice-versa it seems.
What's really impressive is she manages to fit all of this in while still having a day job.
Yes, Donna Turner is a motivated, giving and attractive human being - and indeed she does have it all. But she's someone who got there with hard work and commitment.
And purely because of that, we can't begrudge her that cinched-in waist and those angular cheekbones.
And just in case you're wondering - yes she found him - a dreamboat finer than any Dutchman on a tram... and every bit the Brad Pitt she'd one day hoped to meet.
--------------
I only posted this only to highlight the ravages obesity does to youth. This forum would generally accept that young women will on average trump older women but damn. Despite adding 13 years, subtracting 53kg has made all the difference. Imagine if she was this thin when she was younger.
I can't believe the change. Who knew that there was such beauty underneath that fatness.
Sometimes you do see pretty fat (heh) girls: obese girls who you know would be hot if they weren't tank, but its rare that such beauty goes realised.
Although there are no comments about fat acceptance, that beauty is a social construct and that every woman is beautiful just they way they are.