11 March 2024 , 15:27
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A mum who lost so much weight she was ''constantly freezing'' was eventually cured - by cold water therapy.
After losing 11 stone Nicola Hogg, 36, found ice water baths helped to regulate her body temperature after feeling so cold she was left "shivering all the time". She had previously been left unable to walk or play with her son after tipping the scales at 21 stone in September 2021.
Nicola had piled on the pounds after years of gorging on up to 30 packets of Salt and Vinegar crisps and multiple takeaways a week - after her husband went to bed. After reaching size 26 she contacted a private hospital in Turkey about a gastric sleeve surgery operation.
Four months after contacting the clinic, in October 2021, Nicola flew to Izmir, Turkey, with her husband Bryen Hogg, 36, a contracts manager, for the £3,600 procedure. After a successful surgery, she dropped 11 stone in 12 months, however, her drastic weight loss left her "shivering all the time" and unable to keep warm.
In October 2022 she discovered cold water therapy through being recommended by a friend. She now weighs an impressive 10st 8lbs and is a svelte size 12. The mum-of-one and even has an ice bath in her back garden where she takes a dunk every morning, as well as regular cold showers.
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Nicola in her ice bath (Nicola Hogg/SWNS)Nicola, who works in marketing, from Fife, Scotland, said: "I was a secret emotional eater. I wouldn't eat anything during the day and then would binge in the evening after my husband would go up to bed. Crisps were my biggest weakness, I'd get through a mega multipack a week as well as takeaways. When I became a mum to my little boy, I tried fad diets but any weight I'd lose, I'd soon pile it back on.
"At my heaviest, I was unable to walk and it would break my heart when I couldn't play with my son. However, after being able to shed the weight, I was always left cold because of my shrinking frame. Being introduced to cold water therapy by a friend has been life-changing. I even have an ice bath in my back garden, and I always start my day with a morning dip."
Nicola, who is mum to Dainton, nine, credits her rocky relationship with food to losing her mum at just 13 years-old. She said: "My grief triggered an unhealthy relationship with food. I'd used food as a reward for getting through each day and it soon became my drug. I'd binge in secret because I was ashamed and when I was in secondary school, I was wearing a size 18 skirt."
Nicola's turbulent relationship with food continued into her twenties and became worse after the birth of her son in January 2015. Desperate to lose weight, Nicola turned to yo-yo dieting with Slimming World, the 1:1 Diet and even tried hypnosis- but none of them made a long-term impact. By September 2021 and weighing 21st 7lbs, Nicola turned to weight loss surgery.
Nicola Hogg, after she lost half of her bodyweight (Nicola Hogg/SWNS)
Nicola Hogg, after she lost half of her bodyweight (Nicola Hogg/SWNS)After a successful 45-minute surgery, she remained in hospital for a week before flying back to the UK to continue her weight loss journey. With a reduced stomach and only able to eat three small meals a day Nicola found herself losing a stone a month. By September 2022, she was down to 10 stone -which she's been able to maintain- however, she found it impossible to regulate her body temperature.
Struggling to keep warm, Nicola found herself wearing up to three hoodies to keep warm, faced rising electricity bills and would barely leave the house. That all changed in October 2022 when she started attending yoga classes that included cold-water treatment, in her local area of Fife, Nicola "instantly" saw a difference in her body temperature.
It is widely believed cold water forces the body into 'survival mode' stimulating the increase blood flow and circulation. Nicola said: "I went into the deep end with ice baths. I noticed the benefits straight away and I wasn't as cold - it was like magic. I loved the classes, but they were a little costly and so getting my own tub was more cost-effective and less time consuming.
"The ice has also helped my arthritis as my joints are not as inflamed- paired with my weight loss, I'm able to be the best mum to Dainton. We can go on long walks as a family and I'm able to show my son what a healthy relationship with food looks like. Losing weight saved me but cold-water therapy has given me the best life."