The world’s former fattest woman has revealed how she’s looking for a love match after losing a staggering 570lbs in weight.
Now a regular at her local gym in Texas, Catrina Raiford, 40, originally from Florida, has joined dating app Tinder in a bid to find romance.
It’s a world away from where she was in 2002, when she hit the headlines after the side of her home had to be bulldozed away because her 1,000lb frame had left her bed bound.
The one-time self-styled ‘half-tonne woman’ Catrina Raiford, 40, originally from Florida, now weighs in at just shy of 400lbs after shedding a staggering 576lb in weight
The 40-year-old reached her lowest ebb in 2002, when the side of her home was bulldozed because she needed hospital treatment for breathing problems and couldn’t get out of bed
Ready to date: Now Catrina, who once posted pictures of other women on dating sites to entice potential lovers, is happy to share her own image on Tinder
Too large to move, she dubbed herself ‘the half-tonne woman’ and vowed to slim down.
There is a drawback, though, as when men discover how massive Catrina once was, all they want to talk about is how she managed to shed her bulk.
‘They ask me for tips for their sisters, aunts, mums,’ she laughed. ‘Still, it’s amazing to think that a few years ago I couldn’t move and now I am dating.’
At one point Catrina, now 40, was completely immobile and bed-bound.
The side of her Florida home had to be bulldozed to get her out, when she was developed breathing difficulties and needed to be taken to hospital.
Back from the brink: The Florida native was bedbound for almost five years after falling into a cycle of unhealthy eating
The weight loss has left Catrina with excess skin that only surgery will remove, but she’s hopeful that she can have at least 140lb of weight cut away from her
Now, more than a year after first sharing her story, Catrina, who has since moved to Texas, has slimmed down even further to 392lb.
Delighted by her progress, she plans to lose even more weight, as she is eager to have 140lb of sagging skin cut off.
She also wants her breasts reshaping – something surgeons will only do after her excess flab is removed.
‘For the first time ever, at the end of December, I worked out for an hour in the gym,’ Catrina said. ‘I took a video of it to inspire other people.’
More than 6,000 people watched the video of Catrina sweating, as she explained her workout.
Work it! The gym bunny now exercises four times a week and videos of her working up a sweat have been posted on YouTube
Looking for love: Catrina has joined both Tinder and Black People Meet in a bid to find love in 2017
Now, for four hours a week, she works out on the floor. She also enjoys water aerobics.
‘I love it,’ she said. ‘It really gives me confidence.’
Emboldened by her achievements, three months ago Catrina, who left her job in customer services to focus fully on her weight loss, joined a number of dating sites including Black People Meet and Tinder.
She has been on a number of dates, going to bars and restaurants, but has not yet found ‘the one.’
‘I’ve had a lot of fun though,’ she said. ‘I never thought I’d be dating.’
Now 40, Catrina’s weight peaked around 13 years ago. But, after her house had to be bulldozed, in order to take her to hospital, she finally embarked on a strict diet – switching sugary snacks for small portions of lean meat, fruit and vegetables.
Catrina said: ‘I was in bed for so long that now I’ve lost the weight, I just want to be free.’
Her problems started years before her weight reached 1,000lb. At just 12 her mum had to start making Catrina’s clothes, as she had outgrown high street sizes.
Diet change: Dedicated to her weight loss, Catrina had a gastric bypass procedure in 2005 and has kept the weight off on a low calorie regime
Swimming and aerobics are now Catrina’s favourite exercise and in December she managed her first hour-long gym work-out
By 14, she weighed 448lb and was admitted to a psychiatric home for eight months, in a bid to tackle her overeating.
But she continued to pile on weight and, once back home, she spent her days eating and avoiding people.
Unable to move around easily, Catrina resigned from her telesales job and had to move back in with her mum.
For the next five years she was bedbound. Her mum would bring her food and a cousin would empty her bed pan.
She’d spend her time on the internet, lying to men about her appearance and having ‘catfish’ relationships.
Pictured in 2015, Catrina has turned to dating sites before but this time she’s hopeful of finding a man who loves her for who she is
‘It was the worst time of my life,’ she confessed. ‘I just wanted to die. Each day I’d just eat and go online from morning to night.’
In December 2002, she started having breathing difficulties. Desperate for medical help, emergency services were called.
After the wall was demolished to free her, mortified Catrina was taken to hospital on the back of a flatbed truck.
With the help of specialists, a calorie-restricted diet and very light exercise, she went on to to lose 294lb naturally in three years, before having a gastric bypass procedure in 2005.
‘Being bulldozed out of my house was the worst thing that had ever happened to me,’ she said. ‘But it was also the thing that saved me. Now I’m a new woman.’
