A student who was ‘crushed’ after being branded a whale by the boy she fancied had her ’empowering’ moment when she rejected him – after dropping four dress sizes.
Isobel Morrey, 18, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was at her largest in January 2020 when she was a size 14 and creeping up to a size 16.
She embarked on the 5:2 intermittent fasting plan in March 2020 and hasn’t looked back since.
A student who was ‘crushed’ after being branded a WHALE by the boy she fancied had her ’empowering’ moment when she rejected him – after dropping FOUR dress sizes
After just six months she reached a slinky size 6/8 and claims losing weight ‘for herself’ has been ‘life-changing’ for her confidence and has even donned a bikini for the very first time.
One of her most satisfying achievements came when she was able to brush off a former crush who fat-shamed her, adding it was a ‘full-circle moment’.
The diet is called the 5:2 diet because five days of the week are normal eating days, while the other two restrict calories to 500–600 per day.
Isobel said that from the age of 11 she felt out of place due to her weight and hated her body ‘with a passion’.
Isobel Morrey, 18, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was at her largest in January 2020 when she was a size 14 and creeping up to a size 16
She embarked on the 5:2 intermittent fasting plan in March 2020 and after just six months she reached a slinky size 6/8
She claims scrolling through images of ‘glamorous’ girls on social media fuelled the bad relationship she had with her body.
Isobel said: ‘I remember I said something to a boy that I really liked when I was 11.
‘It was probably like “I fancy you” or something and he shouted across the classroom “Shut up, whale”.
‘It crushed my life. I was so devastated that a boy didn’t like me back and it was because of how I looked, which was something I couldn’t really control at that age. It made my insecurities worse.’
She added that her younger self would have been ‘dead proud’ that she was able to brush off her former crush.
She said: ‘It’s funny because they’re the people in my Instagram DMs now – he has since messaged me saying “Hey, haven’t seen you in so long” and I just never replied.
She claims losing weight ‘for herself’ has been ‘life-changing’ for her confidence, and was even able to brush off a former crush who fat-shamed her
‘Someone had made me feel so bad all those years ago and I was able to rise above him and he was the one crawling back.
‘It felt so powerful being able to do that after all these years. It felt a bit petty that I ignored it but I don’t really care because it was so good to do that for my younger self.
‘Years later for it to be the other way around and for him to want me when I’m not interested just felt like a proper full-circle moment.
‘It’s funny that now he wants me, I feel like my younger self would be dead proud.’
After the hurtful fat-shaming comment, Isobel said she put more effort into her appearance at school – even wearing make-up.
She added that she’d get ‘more and more down about’ her weight and eat to make herself feel better, and the cycle would continue
Isobel said: ‘My classmates laughed because he was the class clown and I think everybody thought it was funny – I was probably laughing too but obviously on the inside I wasn’t.
‘I look back at pictures from when I was really young and getting my belly out for example, I was laughing, having fun and didn’t care.
‘But when I got that little bit older, that’s the only thing I thought about.
‘I wasn’t happy with myself and my weight really brought me down – I wasn’t really in a very good place because of it.
‘I remember going into assemblies in year five and six and breathing in so that people wouldn’t think I was as fat, even though I wasn’t at the time.
Isobel said that social media ‘had a lot to do with the way’ she felt about her body, and even though she wasn’t overweight, that is how it made her feel
‘I look back and think “oh my goodness, I was so young and was always concerned about my weight, which is absolutely ridiculous”.’
After spending years unhappy with her figure, Isobel decided to take action and began intermittent fasting.
Thrilled Isobel said she started seeing results almost immediately and by April 2020 was fitting into a size 10.
By late August and early September reached a size 8 and was finally happy with her body.
Isobel said: ‘I would definitely say social media had a lot to do with the way I felt. I wasn’t even considered overweight or anything but that’s how they made me feel.
She added that her younger self would have been ‘dead proud’ that she was able to brush off her former crush who had made her feel bad about herself all those years ago
‘I’ve always been concerned about my weight. I look back at pictures now and realise I wasn’t even as big as I thought. It was just in my head, which was one of the worst bits to see.
‘I’d think I would be really fat and then eat and cope with that and look back and realise that I wasn’t actually fat.’
She added that she’d get ‘more and more down about it’ and the cycle would continue.
Isobel said: ‘Before lockdown started I was really down and upset about my weight, I’d cry about it for days on end.
‘One day I went “right, I’m going to do something about this” and I’ve consistently kept up with it ever since.
Thrilled Isobel said she started seeing results almost immediately and by April 2020 was fitting into a size 10, and had slimmed down to a size 8 by the end of the year
Isobel said she has ‘always been concerned’ about her weight but after crying about it for days on end, she decided to do something about it
‘It just clicked and the motivation came. I just got so low about my weight that I just one day got up and did it and didn’t look back.’
Isobel said she returned to school after lockdown ‘feeling so good’ about herself and had also bought a brand new wardrobe with on-trend clothes she’d always wanted to wear.
The TikToker said she’s since received ‘nice and supportive’ comments both from her classmates and online too where she’s amassed more than 147,4700 followers.
Isobel said: ‘Losing weight has been life-changing – it’s had a knock-on effect on everything and it’s the confidence that’s come from that.
Isobel said she returned to school after lockdown ‘feeling so good’ about herself and had also bought a brand new wardrobe with on-trend clothes she’d always wanted to wear
‘All my friends have said that I’ve just come out of my shell, I’ve got so much more confidence that I didn’t know I had.
‘I have the confidence to wear anything now – I go out in the funkiest outfits. I wear the craziest of things and the shortest of things – I properly consider myself a fashionista.
‘I’d never worn a bikini in my life until about a few months ago.
‘I was just so proud of myself as I’d always said I’d wanted to lose weight so when I finally did it, I thought I’d do a little before and after just to show myself how far I’d actually come.
‘It’s improved my life so much in ways I didn’t even think possible. It’s made me feel so much better, healthier and happier.’