Jennifer Louise, 42, was left feeling ‘humiliated’ and ’embarrassed’ after a flight attendant insisted her armrest should be lowered and claimed weight was ‘all about life choices’.
A mother left devastated after being shamed on the flight has lost 12 stone.
Jennifer Louise, 42, was traveling back from Lanzarote in May 2023 when a comment from a cabin steward left her “humiliated” and “embarrassed”. As she prepared to land, the flight attendant insisted that Jennifer’s armrest needed to be lowered, claiming that weight was “all about life choices.”
With a scale of 24 stone and a dress size of 26, years of yo-yo dieting and mega portions had taken their toll. She also found herself relying on caffeine and Rich Tea cookies to get through her 40-hour work week as a proposal manager. When she returned to Britain, Jennifer cut out carbs and processed sugar in a bid to lose weight.
In the first year she lost 12 stone, more than half her body weight, and now weighs 12st 2lb and is a slim dress size 14. Mum-of-one Jennifer, who is now a writer, from Bedfordshire, said: “I I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life, so I was used to strangers huffing and staring at me. But I didn’t expect a professional to comment on my body while slamming an armrest into me.
“I felt ashamed and burst into tears. Unless you have struggled with your weight, you don’t know how humiliating such a comment is. That’s when I knew I had to make a change. Within four months I had lost four stone, and we have our puppy, Merlin, now nine months old.
“He was the game changer because it meant I got to go out and take him on walks, rain or shine. I’m half the woman I once was, but I’ve gained so much because I was finally able I go to a store and find clothes for my size. Most importantly, I am finally the healthy mother my daughter needs. She tells me that I am now ‘even more beautiful’.”
Growing up, Jennifer always struggled with her weight and during her pregnancy the pounds piled on with her nine-year-old daughter, born in May 2015. After snacking all day at work, she then ate ‘mega portions’ of dinner at home with her husband Stewart, 38, a purchasing manager.
Despite trying fad diets and weight loss programs such as Slimming World, Atkins and Keto, any progress Jennifer made would be undone by her emotional eating and dormant lifestyle. “I’ve been dieting since I was 16, but nothing worked,” Jennifer said. “I stuck to the diet I was on at the time, but lost motivation.
“I didn’t see the point in restricting myself to lose a few pounds a week. I soon fell back into old habits. I also had no idea how to control portions and just sat on a desk all day.” But after a “humiliating” encounter with a flight attendant, Jennifer decided in May 2023 that “enough was enough.”
Jennifer signed up for the Lighter Life weight loss plan in June 2023 and swapped her high-carb meals for meal replacement shakes. “I couldn’t believe how easy it was and the weight just melted off me,” she said. “Having Merlin gave me no excuse not to get my steps in. I now take 18,000 steps a day.
“On weekends we can take lovely long walks as a family, which my daughter loves. I can now shave my legs and fit into the bath with ease. Parents at school treat me differently, which is bittersweet for me because if I were fat, that’s all strangers thought of me.
“I love the way I look, but knowing my daughter is proud of me is the real victory. This year we are going back to Lanzarote – with a different airline – and for the first time in my adult life we feel confident .”