A mum who tipped the scales at 15 stone and spent more than £4,000 a year on takeaways has dropped five dress sizes after becoming so addicted to laxatives she soiled herself in public.
Mum-of-two Collette Davidson, 30, had always been slim but started to pile on the pounds during her pregnancies as she failed to fight off cravings for takeaways, crisps and biscuits.
The single mum’s bad food habits spiralled even further out of control after having sons Bobby, 11, and Sonny 10, and she ballooned to a size 20, weighing 14st 13lbs.
Collette’s comfort eating – which saw her spend £4,160 on fast food a year and guzzle five energy drinks a day – also caused her to abuse laxatives in a desperate bid to lose weight.
The mum became addicted and would take up to 30 tablets a week – 15 times the maximum recommended dosage – but when this took such a toll on her body she soiled herself in public.
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She was then inspired to turn things around and has now shed 5st 6lbs through healthy eating.
Full-time mum Collette, from Cleethorpes, Lincs, said: “After having my boys my bad eating habits spiralled out of control and I would binge on takeaways, energy drinks, crisps and biscuits.
“I became so depressed about my weight and started drinking a lot to try to block it out. I was miserable.
“I’d gone from being bubbly and confident to feeling like a fat, ugly pig. My friends and family would ask me what was wrong but I just told them I was fine.
“Out of desperation I started taking laxatives but I hadn’t changed my eating so I didn’t lose any weight.
“That didn’t click in my head at all and I got addicted, taking more and more until I was on 30 a week.
“It got so bad I made a mess of myself in public when I couldn’t make it to the toilet. It was humiliating.
“I never thought I would let myself get so low and I decided then to turn things around.”
At her biggest, Collette was eating 3,803 calories a day – more than double the recommended daily intake for a woman.
The mum’s health also suffered as she struggled with constant backache and shortness of breath, meaning she could never run around with her young sons.
But despite the emotional and physical turmoil Collette’s bulky frame was causing her, the mum kept her pain secret from friends and family – and even lied about her size.
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Collette said: “I was completely in denial. I would even lie about my size and tell them I was a 12 but my boobs were too big.
“At a party I tried to squeeze into this black dress that was a size 18 but I couldn’t do the zip up. Instead of admitting that I was a size 20 I just put on a cardigan to hide that the back was gaping open.
“I felt guilty and hated myself but rather than reach out, I would just turn to food for comfort.
“I was obsessed with fish and chips and Chinese takeaways, ordering them five or six times a week.
“And then I would snack on all sorts – Peperamis, family bags of Doritos, biscuits and Dairylea Dunkers. Whatever I wanted I would have it.”
But after her laxative addiction caused her to humiliatingly soil herself during a trip into Cleethorpes, Colette plucked up the courage to go to her first Slimming World meeting and has now transformed her life.
The mum swapped takeaways and snacks for healthy home cooked meals and started going on long walks with her boys – and now weighs just 9st 7lbs and is a svelte size 10.
And despite suffering from crippling insecurities when she was big, Collette’s weight loss has given her the confidence to flaunt her slim figure in glamorous selfies.
She also feels she can be a much better role model to her boys and raise them with healthy attitudes to food and exercise.
Collette said: “On the way to my first Slimming World meeting I kept saying ‘this isn’t for me” but as soon as we got started I thought it was brilliant.
“My life has completely changed. I’ve completely regained my confidence and I’m almost the same size as I was before I had kids. It’s made me a bit of a poser.
“But I just love being able to go out and buy whatever clothes I want and actually flatter my figure.
“Being so much fitter also means I can get out with the boys loads and we’re always on walks or running about in the park.
“My boys have always been my whole world but losing weight has made me such a better mum.
“I can be a role model for them now and help them grow up knowing the importance of being healthy.”
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