Mia Rose, 49, would start her weekends as early as Thursday – sometimes taking up to six grams of cocaine a weekend and drinking until the end of the week.
A 26.5st mum-of-two who binged on booze and cocaine every weekend for 14 years lost 17st after she was left needing a mobility scooter.
Mia Rose, 49, would start her weekends as early as Thursday – sometimes taking up to six grams of cocaine a weekend and drinking until the end of the week.
The constant hangovers meant Mia pilled on the pounds and found herself binging on junk food as “comfort.” She wore a size 32 at her heaviest, used a seat in her shower and had to crawl up the stairs.
But once Mia was forced to get a mobility scooter in 2021 as she couldn’t “walk five minutes down the road,” she knew it was time to change.
She ditched the junk food and booze and coke for chicken and vegetables, reduced her calories and started doing YouTube workouts.
Losing 11st by herself, Mia then lost another 7st with the help of Mounjaro whilst continuing her exercise and diet.
She now wears a size 8 and after losing a whopping 17st 6lbs, weighs just 8st 9lbs.
Mia, who is currently not working from Weston-Super-Mare, said: “When I had to get the mobility scooter, that was it.
“I sat there and I thought ‘I’m not supposed to be like this.'”At that point, it was either I die or change and be there for my children and granddaughter.
“Everything came together and I saw some light at the end of the tunnel.
“I was thinking I could do it. Of course, there’s always that doubt and the fear of going backwards but I just had that hope. It’s been a slow process but during some cognitive behaviour therapy it put me in the right space that I could change.”
Mia, who originally spoke to Sell Us Your Story, struggled with drinking and drugs for over 14 years because of her “difficult” childhood.
She said: “I had quite a difficult childhood – my mum died when I was young and my dad was a chronic alcoholic.
“So, on and off I did drugs throughout my life to cope with the trauma. It’s been really difficult and I gave up on myself at an early age. I would take quite a lot of cocaine in a week.
“All over the weekend, every weekend.
“Sometimes starting on a Thursday and ending on a Sunday
“I was drinking anything I could get my hands on.
“Whole bottles of vodka, gin, wine, cider – I didn’t drink every day, it was like a binge.”
This affected her weight and she would eat more to cope with the hangovers.
She added: “I think it was a comfort thing – I would binge on the food as well. When you’re hungover you binge on the wrong foods, so I was constantly in the binge.
“It would be anything I could get my hands on – I’d constantly have savoury, sweet, savoury all day long. I couldn’t do anything. I would stand up for five minutes and my ankles would swell up like balloons.
“Sometimes I’d have to crawl up the stairs.”
Eventually, after needing the mobility scooter, Mia decided to make a change in August 2021 – adopting a new diet and exercise. She also stopped and went cold turkey with the drink and booze as she knew she had to “otherwise I was going to die.”
She said: “I started by using the workout bands for 10 minutes.
“I’d sit on the bed and try and lie back and sit up. Then I progressed to doing YouTube workouts.
“I then started cardio for 30 minutes. From there I lost 11st over three and a half years. Because I hit a plateau at 15st I decided to pay for Mounjaro and I managed to lose the last bit of weight with that and got down to 8st 9lbs.
“I don’t do the cardio anymore; I just do Pilates and strength training.
“I started at 3,000 calories and then I got it down to 2,500 calories and then took it down by 500 after every four or five months.”Mia says her lifestyle change has allowed her to feel “normal” again.
She said: “I don’t really go out a lot because of the social anxiety, but when I do go out, I feel normal and I don’t stand out anymore.”