Caroline Clifford was in her early 40s when she decided she wanted to lose weight. She came on The Ray D’Arcy Show to talk to Ray about reaching this decision, losing 7 stone in 7 months (44kg) and how her life has changed as a result.
Caroline told Ray that she hadn't felt like she was carrying excess weight before getting married and having her 3 children. Soon though, she recognised that she had gained a significant amount of weight and she felt she was making “101 excuses” in trying to ignore it.
“Every time I kind of looked at myself or weighed myself I thought ‘God, this has to stop sometime’. But sure it didn't. And I kept going, more excuses.”
A family bike ride was the “turning point”, she explained to Ray. Her children had received new bikes as Christmas presents and when Caroline joined them on a leisurely cycle, she felt her body was “under pressure”. Despite being a Psychiatric Nurse and having medical training, historically Caroline has shied away from the doctor’s office so this made her nervous.
“A couple of years previous to that I had done the usual blood checks. My cholesterol was high. I wouldn't go back to the doctor. In my head, in case my cholesterol hadn't gone down. Just avoided it.”
Easter proved to be the last straw, according to Caroline. She joined a local weight loss group and committed to regular exercise, walking “practically every day for the 7 months after that.” In their conversation, she took Ray through those tentative steps to where she is today.
Listen back to the full interview with Caroline on The Ray D’Arcy Show here.