With their wedding around the corner and a dream to play a leading role with the Melbourne Opera, fiancées Jodie and Craig are knee-deep in this weight-loss challenge.
Jodie Curran
Age: 38
Occupation: Tax Officer and part-time Opera Singer
State: VIC
Now: 113.5kg
Goal: 62kg
Her upcoming marriage to Craig DeBono in 2009, heading towards 40 and wanting to play a major part in the Melbourne Opera, have brought Jodie to where she is today; one half of the duo taking part in the Second Chance Challenge. The 38-year-old tax officer and her fiancé are also serious about starting a family.
Jodie, who studied to be an opera singer, says her self-confidence has suffered because of her weight. “I sing and perform with Melbourne Opera, but never with a leading role. My roles have tended to be the character-type roles. Last year I was asked to sing on an ABC National Radio for the breakfast team’s end of year party. I was the fat lady who sings at the end of the program. You know, ‘It’s not over until the fat lady sings!’ - cue Jodie.
“I’m now over 110kg. That’s just massive for someone who is just 165cm tall. Both my parents are overweight and I know that I’m heading down the path of ill health unless I can turn my lifestyle around and begin to take care of myself. My lowest point was seeing the photos from our engagement party and realising that I’m just huge. I don’t want to be a fat bride. I would like to get to 65kg by the time our wedding comes around in October 2009.”
Follow Jodie's online diary, updated every week!
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Craig before
Jodie before
Craig Debono
Age: 39
Occupation: Public Servant
State: VIC
Now: 169.8kg
Goal: 88kg
Craig Debono now acknowledges that childhood abuse, both emotional and physical, may well have triggered his unhealthy attitude to eating.
Craig explains, “I came to Australia from England with my mum and her father when I was small and, for reasons that I don’t understand and probably never will, I was sent back to England to live with my grandparents a few years later. It was here that the abuse started.
“My mum was a single mother and her mother never wanted me to be born – the late sixties wasn’t a great place for unwed mums. My grandmother had a stroke, which affected her mentally and it was after this that I started to be hit and starved.
“It wasn’t until my mum’s sister returned to England from the States that she realised what was happening. My mum came back to England for me and we returned to Australia.”
Craig feels that being starved of food may have signalled the start of his weight problems. On top of this, a leg injury saw Craig’s weight balloon. It’s been a long time since Craig remembers feeling fit and healthy!
Craig says, “While I’m eating, I find myself looking around to see how much more I can fit in even when I’m full. I only really put my finger on what the cause of this might have been in the last year or two and now I know that I need a major overhaul of my mindset. I have been helped to see things more clearly by a counsellor and I know that this could continue to help me.
“I’m getting married to Jodie soon and I want us to have a long and healthy life together. Once I get some of the weight off, I’m looking forward to getting back into the sports that I once loved, like ice hockey and cricket, and joining the army reserves or even the police force.
“Jodie is my partner for the Second Chance Challenge for the same reasons that I want to marry her; she is the greatest support I have ever had. She makes me feel good about myself. She’s the smartest and funniest person I know. I want us to be around and together for a long time.”
Enter the Second Chance Challenge weight-loss world via Craig's diary.
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