Woman, 31, sheds 13.5 stone without fat jabs in just over a year
Christina Togher, a 31-year-old chef from County Mayo, Ireland, had lost count of fad diets as the scale stubbornly crept up—until she tipped the scales at 22 stone (308 lb / 140 kg). The bullying she faced as a child started a cycle of emotional eating that followed her through her teenage years, with the comforting lure of takeaway meals and chocolate biscuits offering only a short-lived relief, followed by guilt. Ms Togher, who weighed 22 st (308 lb / 140 kg) and wore a size XXL at her heaviest, realised she had to make serious lifestyle changes as her thirtieth birthday loomed, if she wanted to show up for her loved ones. When she left home to go to university, where she studied accounting and finance, Ms Togher quickly lost much of her teenage weight after she fell in love with exercise and eating healthily. However, after landing a job as a chef after graduating, old habits crept back and she piled on more than 7 st, reaching a mammoth 18 st 12 lbs (252 lb / 114 kg) in March 2024. Thankfully, after deciding that she had no choice but to lose the weight, her now‑personal trainer walked into her restaurant and changed her views on what she could achieve. She said: 'I suffer from anxiety and I was severely bullied as a kid because of my weight, as I tended to eat my feelings. It made me feel so self-conscious, but I didn’t deal with it.' Sign up for our free Health newsletter Transform your health every Tuesday with expert guides, real-life stories and advice from top doctors By signing up, you will receive our newsletter as well as marketing emails with news, offers and updates from the Daily Mail. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. Christina Togher has revealed how she shed more than half her body weight without using fat jabs At her heaviest, Ms Togher weighed a mammoth 22 stone, but slimmed down over 15 months 'At university, when I started dieting and exercising, I fell in love with walking and running and I weight around 11 stone.' But, she described taking her job as a chef as a real wake-up call, as she soon piled on all the weight she had worked hard to lose, and more, until she weighed 22 stone. 'The old habits came back hard. I stopped wearing nice outfits and I was hiding in baggy clothes. I was in a really bad place mentally, and I went back to eating my emotions instead of dealing with them in a health way. I was tired all the time and everything hurt—even a basic, everyday task, like walking up a flight up stairs was such a struggle. I knew I didn't want to hit my 30s, I didn't want to hit that new decade feeling this bad.' But the new plan that her personal trainer, Nicky Kearney, devised was totally different from the fad diets and short‑lived workout plans she had tried before. She said: 'Nicky went through it all with me—my lifestyle, my diet, my exercise routine—and made me realise that it wasn't such a big thing, that I'd made a mountain out of a molehill.' She added that her PT completely changed her mindset, showing her that everyone is on their own journey and that nobody in the gym was looking at her—which she said was 'brilliant' for her confidence. From March 2024, Ms Togher started training hard in the gym, determined to stay disciplined and nurture her body from the inside out, consistently losing 3lbs a week which 'spurred her to keep going' until she reached a slim 8st 7lbs. She said: 'It's crazy when you start putting numbers on it, it's actually crazy to think that I've lost the weight of a full-grown man.' 'If something's bothering me, I now take it out in the gym instead of eating my feelings and I feel so much happier, I have more energy and I don't hurt as much as I did.' 'It’s all about consistency and showing up – keep showing up for you, your kids, your loved ones and know that change is possible,' she added. Things couldn't be more different now than before, with Ms Togher loving life—looking forward to her training sessions and feeling lighter. She said: 'I do weight training five days a week with two rest days and a minimum of 30 minutes on the stair master as my cardio.' 'I even look forward to the days where I can go to the gym and be in a world of my own, it's just me time.' But as her 30th birthday loomed closer, she knew something had to change. Determined to drop the weight for good, Ms Togher enlisted the help of personal trainer Nicky Kearny who devised an exercise and diet plan to help her feel lighter - both physically and mentally. Ms Togher also aims to clock up 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day and has cut back on caffeine, booze and takeaways—and now only has an alcoholic drink once or twice a year. She has also overhauled her diet, and eats a protein-packed breakfast, followed by a falafel wrap—which is high in fibre—and a protein bowl for dinner. Having 'repaired' her relationship with food and learnt how to maintain this lifestyle in a healthy way, she is now fundraising to pay for a skin removal surgery after her mammoth weight loss left her with excess skin around her stomach and arms. Also known as a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty, the cosmetic surgery involves removing excess loose skin, fat and stretch marks and tightening the abdominal muscles. According to the NHS, the aim is to remove excess skin around the stomach that cannot be removed through exercise—for example, caused by excessive weight loss. But because abdominoplasty is regarded as cosmetic surgery, it is not usually available on the NHS or public health system in Ireland. But Ms Togher feels that it would be the missing puzzle piece in her weight loss journey. 'It would mean so much to get the surgery because it's the last thing that makes me self-conscious. It would make me feel beautiful again.'
Bullying, emotional eating and a heaviest weight of 22 stone
Christina Togher, bullied as a child, developed emotional eating that followed her into her teenage years, leading to a steady climb on the scales. By the time she reached adulthood, she had tipped the scales at 22 stone and wore a size XXL at her heaviest. When she left home to go to university, where she studied accounting and finance, she quickly lost a lot of her teenage weight after she fell in love with exercise and eating healthily. But when she took a job as a chef after graduating, old habits started to creep back and she piled on more than 7 stone, reaching a mammoth 18 stone 12 lbs (252 lb / 114 kg) in March 2024. 'At university, when I started dieting and exercising, I fell in love with walking and running and I weight around 11 stone.' 'But the old habits came back hard. I stopped wearing nice outfits and I was hiding in baggy clothes. I was in a really bad place mentally, and I went back to eating my emotions instead of dealing with them in a health way.' 'I was tired all the time and everything hurt—even a basic, everyday task, like walking up a flight up stairs was such a struggle.' 'But I knew I didn't want to hit my 30s, I didn't want to hit that new decade feeling this bad.' 'From March 2024, Ms Togher started training hard in the gym, determined to stay disciplined and nurture her body from the inside out, consistently losing 3lbs a week which spurred her to keep going until she reached a slim 8st 7lbs.'
From crisis to confidence: the trainer, the plan, and the weight loss milestones
Her turning point came when her personal trainer, Nicky Kearney, walked into her restaurant and changed her views on her abilities for good. She said: 'Nicky went through it all with me—my lifestyle, my diet, my exercise routine—and made me realise that it wasn't such a big thing, that I'd made a mountain out of a molehill.' Nicky’s approach was totally different from the fad diets and short‑lived workout plans she had tried before, and it helped her rebuild confidence in herself. 'Everyone is on their own journey and nobody in the gym is looking at you,' she said, calling it 'brilliant' for her confidence. From March 2024, she started training hard in the gym, consistently losing about 3 pounds per week until she reached a current slim target. 'It's crazy when you start putting numbers on it, it's actually crazy to think that I've lost the weight of a full-grown man.' She added that if something's bothering her, she now takes it out in the gym instead of eating her feelings, and she feels happier, with more energy and less pain. 'It’s all about consistency and showing up – keep showing up for you, your kids, your loved ones and know that change is possible,' she said. Now, she follows a program of weight training five days a week with two rest days, plus at least 30 minutes on the stair master for cardio. 'I even look forward to the days where I can go to the gym and be in a world of my own, it's just me time.' To reach her lighter body, she also aims to clock up 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day, has cut back on caffeine, booze and takeaways, and now only has an alcoholic drink once or twice a year. She has overhauled her diet with a protein-packed breakfast, a falafel wrap for lunch, high in fibre, and a protein bowl for dinner. Having repaired her relationship with food and learned how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, she is now fundraising to pay for a skin removal surgery after the excess skin around her stomach and arms remains a reminder of her journey. She explains: 'It would mean so much to get the surgery because it's the last thing that makes me self-conscious. It would make me feel beautiful again.'
