A mother lost three kilos after receiving a surprise when she struggled to remove her engagement ring from her finger.
Jennie Hunter, 48, considered cutting it off after it was so tight she couldn’t take it off while on holiday with her husband Neil, 51, last year.
She cannot wear the ring in her job as a pharmacist in an NHS hospital and would only wear it on special occasions.
After finally being able to take it off his finger, he was faced with the daunting prospect of never being able to put it back on.
The shock spurred her into action and she set about losing weight when the couple returned to their home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Jennie Hunter, 48, considered cutting it off after it became so tight she couldn’t take it off while on holiday with her husband Neil, 51, last year.
After finally being able to take it off her finger, she was faced with the daunting prospect of never being able to put it back on (pictured before she lost weight).
Jennie, who went from a size 20 to a size 14 in just 10 months, said: “The options were to cut it off or try to take it off.”
‘I couldn’t bear having it cut because it was like breaking the symbol of marriage.
“I sat with a friend, we iced my finger for a while and I finally took it off. My husband said we could make the ring bigger, but I said I wanted it to be smaller.
‘I panicked when I didn’t go out, I had to go out. “Then I got really angry because I knew I couldn’t get it back.”
Jennie used to finish work and then take her five-year-old son to an after-school club, so she ended up eating ready-made food and takeaways for tea.
She barely noticed the pounds adding up until she noticed a difference in her photos, which also fueled her improved health.
Jennie, who is also the stepmother of a 17-year-old boy, ditched fatty fried foods and opted for healthier options.
Jennie painting her shed, June 2021, before losing weight
Now he has lost three kilos and his clothes are baggy.
With the help of his weight trainer at his local World slimming group, he learned to plan healthy meals in advance.
He added: “I knew the weight was increasing, but I couldn’t see how big it was getting.”
‘I knew I was growing up, but as I saw myself every day, I didn’t really notice.
“It was only when I started looking at pictures that I thought ‘God, I look so big in that picture.'”
‘But my friends and family would say it was a bad angle and I wasn’t that big.
“But then I saw another picture of myself and thought I really needed to do something about this.”
After losing weight, Jennie feels much more confident and loves having her photo taken after going from a size 20 to a size 14.
With the help of his weight trainer at his local world weight loss group, he learned to plan healthy meals in advance.
Jenny lost weight after her ring got stuck on her finger
She added: “I feel much safer and I’m much happier when they take photos of me.”
‘I don’t have many photos from before, but now I don’t feel ashamed or try to hide.
‘Now when I look at photographs, I smile when I see myself instead of hating what I’m looking at.
‘It’s the confidence to go out, I can actually think I look good now.
‘Now I will use the stairs at work instead of the elevator, because my knees won’t hurt when going up the stairs.
‘I also feel happy going swimming, but before I didn’t feel comfortable wearing a swimsuit.
“I feel a lot better about myself, like I have more stamina, which is really great.”
‘The most important thing for me was planning.
‘I’m a working mother and don’t finish late until work and then had to think about what to have for tea while trying to tidy up my son.
‘We ended up eating ready-made food like breaded chicken and baked chips because I hadn’t prepared anything.
“Now, with global weight loss, I have planned my meals so I don’t come home trying to decide what I’m going to eat.”