Great North Run triumph for Choppington super slimmer

Posted by The Journal on Oct 30, 08 09:24 AM in News

A SUPER slimmer shed 14 stone in 18 months to complete the world's biggest half marathon.

At one point Gemma Wailes, from Choppington, Northumberland, tipped the scales at more than 25 stone and wore a size 30 dress.

But now she has dropped nine sizes and weighs just 11.5 stone.

And last month, with her mum by her side, the 27-year-old completed the Great North Run in two hours and 23 minutes.

Gemma, a deputy manager for a drug treatment programme, said: "I was over the moon when we crossed that finishing line.

"When we initially started training I never dreamed we would finish it in that sort of time. I never thought I could do something like this. Now I hope to do it again next year. I've already been on the phone to mum asking when we're next going out running."

Gemma's weight problems started when she left home for university in Lincoln.

She said: "All of a sudden I went from eating fresh home-cooked meals to being able to eat whatever I wanted.

"I was greedy. I'd eat whole packets of biscuits and boxes of chocolates in one go."

Mum Norma, 55, a school finance manager, and dad Jeff, 57, became increasingly concerned about their daughter's weight and the impact on her health.

Norma said: "Every time she came home from university she was getting bigger and bigger. She was size 30 at her graduation ball. It was terribly worrying.

"Every time she came through the door we argued about it. It was horrible to see your child doing that to themselves."

It was her mum and dad's nagging that finally prompted Gemma to begin slimming in April last year, by trying to keep to 1,200 calories a day and cutting out junk food and booze.

She combined this with gentle exercise supported by her boyfriend, Michael Brown, 23.

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