I was bubbly to hide my shame – being called the ‘big, fat one’ left me in tears

A HAIRDRESSER has recalled the devastating moment a client cruelly branded her, ‘the big, fat one’ – leaving her embarrassed and in floods of tears.

Jasmin Chapman said she made an effort to be “loud and bubbly” to try and mask her insecurities.

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The 34-year-old hairdresser told Sun Health: “A regular customer came into the salon and the receptionist asked who her appointment was with.

“She said ‘I don’t know her name but it’s the big, fat one’.

“I was so embarrassed and heartbroken. I couldn’t do the appointment because I couldn’t stop crying.

“It was an awful experience.”

Jasmin had struggled with her weight since she was a child.

When she was in year 7 she was at her smallest, wearing a size 14.

While at her biggest, she weighed 23 stone and wore a size 26.

Despite pretending her weight didn’t bother her, Jasmin said she was left red-faced when she couldn’t fit onto rides during a day out at a theme park.

In addition, she suffered health issues including sciatica and sleep apnoea.

But when her periods stopped in 2022, and doctors warned her she might not be able to have children, Jasmin vowed to take action.

She said she felt like “her life was over” when she heard the news and she worried that her fiancé, Jake, 31, would leave her.

She managed to get on the waiting list for a gastric bypass, funded by the NHS, and went under the knife in February 2023.

The hairdresser says she has “a new lease of life” after shedding 14 stone, shrinking to nine stone and a size eight.

I thought I was happy and confident before but I wasn’t. I had no self esteem and I didn’t love myself. I knew something needed to change.

Jasmin

Jasmin and IT support worker Jake got engaged in February this year and are going to tie the knot in Greece next year.

The couple plan to try for a baby after the wedding.

”My menstrual cycle had stopped which was scary, Jasmin, from Leicester, said.

“Because of my weight, I’d be at high risk of not being able to have a baby.

“I thought my life was over. I was 33 and on a biological clock. I’d just started seeing Jake and I didn’t know if it would change things.

“Losing 14 stone is a scary thought and it felt impossible but I decided I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.

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“I thought I was happy and confident before but I wasn’t.

“I had no self esteem and I didn’t love myself. I knew something needed to change.

‘I TRIED EVERY FAD DIET IN THE BOOK’

“Because I didn’t know what dress I would wear, I never thought I would have the experience of getting married.

“Jake doesn’t even realise that I’ve changed. It shows what an amazing person he is that he loved me when I was a size 26 and he loves me now.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without his support. He always pushed me.

“My period has come back. We want to try for a baby after the wedding and I can’t wait to be a mum.”

Jasmin said she’d tried “every fad diet in the book” and even managed to shed five stone when she was 25.

But she always struggled to keep the weight off.

She said: “I tried every diet you can think of but I did it because everyone else thought I should.

“I’m a fun lover of life. My weight offended other people more than it offended me.

“I didn’t know any different.

“When I lost five stone, it broke down my relationship because my ex partner didn’t like it.

“During the break up, I probably put that five stone back on in a week because I’m an emotional eater.”

‘I WAS IN DENIAL’

Jasmin says she tried to hide her insecurities by being loud and bubbly but was left feeling embarrassed when her weight became an issue.

“When me and Jake went on holiday the seatbelt on the plane didn’t fit,” she said.

“At theme parks, I couldn’t go on certain rides because I was too big I’d just laugh it off and say it was because of my boobs but it wasn’t.

“I was in denial.”

Jasmin’s diet mostly consisted of portions of pasta big enough to feed a family of four.

She was also a self confessed “diet coke” addict and she rarely drank water.

“I’d cook a portion for a family,” she said.

“If someone offered me a handful of chips or a huge salad, I’d choose the salad because there was more. I never knew when I was full.

“I was a diet coke addict. It’s all I would drink. I wouldn’t drink water. But I haven’t had a drop [of Coca Cola] since the bypass.

“I still treat myself but it’s in moderation.”

‘I DON’T RECOGNISE MYSELF NOW’

Jasmin had counselling to change her perspective on food.

She also went on Slimming World and restricted her diet to just 300 calories per day in the lead up to the surgery.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever done,” she recalled.

“I realised it needed to be a whole lifestyle change, not a fad diet. It’s about health.

“A healthy body is a healthy mind.

“I went to Slimming World and Jake came with me even though he didn’t need to.

“We chucked all of the unhealthy food out of the house.

“The diet in the four weeks beforehand was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

“One and a half boiled eggs is 300 calories. I had a dry salad and a slice of ham per day.”

Jasmin has overhauled her diet with lots of protein, rice, fruit and yoghurts.

Her new lifestyle has also lead to her sciatica and sleep apnoea disappearing.

And she wore a bikini for the first time in her life earlier this year.

Jasmin added: “My new diet is the easiest thing I’ve ever done because it’s changed my life.

“I love to cook and I make everything from scratch.

“I sleep like a baby, my skin is immaculate, I’ve stopped complaining of sciatica and my period has come back.

“I don’t recognise myself in photos anymore.

“People come into the salon and ask for me. They don’t know it’s me until they hear my voice.

“I’m not ashamed of the person I was because my body kept me safe but when I look at photos it does repulse me.

“If people put their mind to it, it’s 100 per cent achievable and it’s worth it.

“It’s given me a new lease of life and I thought I was drowning.”

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