Kim Mattinson, from Cockermouth, Cumbria, lived with the “daily threat of heart failure” when she weighed her heaviest – 20 stone – and she decided to fight the flab
A mum lost half her bodyweight when her 20-stone frame “almost killed” her.
Kim Mattinson, 43, was determined to tackle her weight as, at her heaviest, she lived with the “daily threat of heart failure”. Yet, the the mother of four chose against using fat jabs – and instead overhauled her diet – to become healthier and see a brighter future.
Things looked bleak for Kim in April 2022 when she experienced the symptoms of a heart attack, including a severe pain in her chest, and she was rushed to hospital. Doctors diagnosed her with fatty liver and acute asthma, a moment Kim now regards as “a wake-up call”. Kim’s story mirrors that of Josh Hilton, a hairdresser from Wiltshire, who lost 10 stone in one year without going to the gym or taking fat jabs.
And, like Josh, Kim sees jabs – like those by Ozempic and Mounjaro – as “quick fixes”. Some of these brands, such as Ozempic, are also not designed to be used as weight loss treatments. Kim said: “I see weight loss jabs as a quick fix, I wanted a lasting change. I love food and I didn’t want to have a toxic relationship with it, so I stayed away.”
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The single mum, of Cockermouth, Cumbria, was only 40 when she experienced the “fake” heart attack episode at home. Recalling this, she said: “The day I had the fake heart attack I thought I was going to die. The feeling of thinking these are your last moments was horrific.
“All I could see was my kids and how I wasn’t going to be there for them. Now if anything looking back I’m happy it happened as it forced me to get a move on and change my life.”
So, Kim joined her local Slimming World group, began exercising, beginning with walking 10,000 steps before starting at her local gym and changed her diet. In the three years since April 2022 when she weighed 20 stone, Kim lost some 10 stone.
Speaking today, the holiday cottage management business owner said: “I no longer have to make excuses to do anything, it is yes to everything. My life has done a complete 180 – now we can do whatever we want a family be it swimming, cycling, walking.
“I no longer have to go online to check for weight restrictions. It is also the small things of I remember the first time I could see my feet again or I can now have a bath instead of a shower.
“Losing weight saved my life. It gave me back everything I thought I’d lost and so much more. I couldn’t afford not to be here for my kids – they needed me, and I needed to be around fully present for them.”
Kim compared the difficulties of parenting at her heaviest to now and in recent years as her weight has started to drop. She said: “I had to make excuses for why I couldn’t be there for my own children. I has terribly sore feet and I couldn’t walk for more than 100 metres meaning as a family we were missing out on a lot of things as I just couldn’t physically do it.”
But now the Cumbria mum and her kids, whose ages now range from 11 to 21, enjoy a variety of sports and activities together, including swimming and hiking.