A CLASSICAL music fan has undergone a dramatic 11-stone weight loss – after she found herself struggling to squeeze into seats at the theatre. 
After one too many uncomfortable orchestral, ballet and opera recitals super-sized council worker Jacquie Wittstockm finally decided that enough was enough and embarked on a incredible transformation.
In just 16 months the 47-year-old, from Burntwood, Staffordshire has shed a whopping 11st, to shrink her size 34, 24 stone frame and can now sink her slinky size 12 figure into theatre seats with ease.
Jacquie, a benefits officer at Walsall Council, said her weight ballooned after bingeing on crisps, chocolate and creamy milkshakes.
Her remarkable transformation was triggered after she realised she felt sorry for anyone who had to sit next to her for several hours during the classical recitals she loved.
“People don’t realise how miserable it is to be very overweight – you avoid going out because you know you will even struggle to fit through the doors of the public toilets,” said Jacquie, who now weighs 13st.
“My doctor had told me I was morbidly obese, I was in danger of getting diabetes.
“I love classical music but when I went to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham I would feel sorry for the people sitting next to me.
“I knew that when they saw me approaching to sit next to them their heart must have dropped to their toes and I would struggle to fit into the seats.”
Jacquie, who liked to attend classical recitals, ballet and even opera between 8 and 10 times a year in Birmingham, said she struggled to pay attention to the music she loved.
“I was constantly thinking of the people around me,” she added. “I was worried that I would be encroaching on their space, I couldn’t concentrate on the show at all.
“I was so uncomfortable, I was just this solid mass of fat.
“The problem was I’ve just always loved food . Especially the dairy products and crisps. Then I was on holiday with my family in Devon, eating a meal in a restaurant, and I just wondered ‘why am I eating this?’”
Visiting her sister in Australia was also an ordeal as she felt she was taking up too much room on the plane.
In October 2010 Jacquie took the plunge and joined WeightWatchers, transforming her diet to include eating salads, fresh fish and fruit.
And when her dramatic weight loss had cut her down to a size 18 she started doing regular exercise and entered the Race for Life in memory of her father who died of cancer when he was 28 and her mother who is recovering from breast cancer.
Jacquie enjoys running and can swim 100 lengths in 53 minutes. There is no stopping her now, as she is training to become a triathlete.
“My self-esteem and confidence has gone through the roof and there is no more sitting at home eating – I spend too much time exercising to do that,” said Jacquie, who grew up in Durban, South Africa.
“I feel fantastic now, it’s like I wasn’t a person before. I used to hide myself away from everyone, like I didn’t exist, I felt my family couldn’t be proud of me.
“Now I’m like a new person. It’s just a feeling of utter euphoria, I can sit in the seats at the theatre properly.
“In December when I went back to symphony hall I had so much room. I could get my elbows onto the arm rests, I could cross my legs. That was a big thing, I’d never been able to cross my legs before.
“It’s been an incredible journey. Now I just have to reach my goal of 9 stone 8.”
