SCROLLING through eBay Sunita Inderjeet, 49, searches for the perfect witch costume, completing her look with a pointy hat and broomstick.
And while Sunita may seem like millions of other Brits preparing to celebrate all things spooky on the 31st of October this year, Halloween has extra special significance for the former sports club manager.
Sunita lives in Canewdon, near Southend On Sea known as Britain’s witching village- a tiny community is historically home to witchcraft, covens and mysterious happenings.
And she credits the ‘mystical magic’ and the Canewdon witches for helping her and four other locals with losing a staggering 36 stone in weight.
“Before moving here I almost ate myself to death,” Sunita tells Fabulous.
“I was so overweight I could barely walk to the bathroom and even getting out of my chair was difficult.
“I was so overweight that the fat was severely compressing my vital organs.
“But moving to Britain’s witching village changed my life.”
But Sunita, who has now lost nine stone, says she isn’t the only one to benefit from the town’s magic.
“My next-door neighbour Louise Waller has lost eight stone,” she says.
“Three other village friends have lost 20 stone between them. That is not a coincidence, it’s good witch magic.
“If I had not moved here, I’d be dead.
“This Halloween I am celebrating my magical weight loss, a new life and paying tribute to the village’s spooky history.”
By the age of 45 Former sports club manager, Sunita tipped the scales at 24st and was a size 26.
“I’m only five foot five and at my heaviest weight I had a BMI of 54 making me morbidly obese,” she says.
“In my teens I was a normal size and sporty and when I left home, I worked at a sports club and enjoyed cooking for myself and eating healthy.
“Then in my thirties I started gaining weight due to my love of takeaways and sweets.”
Sunita admits she constantly put off dieting and didn’t consider her weight gain a problem and by 2018 weighed 18st.
“Then in 2019 my best friend died from cervical cancer at the age of 34. I was devastated, it shattered me,” she admits.
“In October 2020 single Sunita wanted a fresh start and moved to Canewdon.
“Everyone was so friendly, and I loved all the stories about the village and its witching history.
“It’s a tourist hotspot for lovers of witching history and I am a history buff.”
However, when lockdown hit Sunita couldn’t work due to covid.
“I was comfort eating all the time and my mental health deteriorated,” she admits.
“I was stricken with anxiety and depression.
“I’d eat huge plates of fried chicken and rice and scoff 24 mini chocolate bars in one sitting. Chocolate and sugary foods made me feel better.
“I was piling on pounds and not exercising. But instead of easing my anxiety and grief it was causing me physical pain and suffering.
“I would sweat just walking to the kitchen. I was out of breath getting clothes out of the tumble dryer and both knees had almost given out due to my massive weight gain.
“Getting up off the sofa took an hour of agonising pain. I could barely breathe or walk.
Louise and I are testament to the fact that Britain’s witching village is full of good spirits and spells
Sunita Inderjeet
“I was 48 years old on a walking stick and unable to walk along my own garden path.
“I was eating myself to death.”
When Sunita moved in, her next-door neighbour Louise Waller, now 34, introduced herself and the pair became friends.
“Louise would pop in and say hello and check on me during lockdown. That would never happen in London,” says Sunita.
Louise, a former office staffer, started to worry about Sunita’s weight gain.
“I knew that she was going through,” Lousie says.
How to lose weight without surgery
There are various other ways to lose weight without going under the knife.
According to the NHS, to get the best possible start on its weight loss plan, there are the seven steps you should follow.
- Get active for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions
- Aim to get your 5 A Day – 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit or vegetables count as 1 portion
- Aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
- Read food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option
- Swap sugary drinks for water – if you do not like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavour
- Cut down on food that’s high in sugar and fat – start by swapping sugary cereal for wholegrain alternatives
- Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can help motivate you when you have a bad day
“In 2016 I was a size 26 and weighed almost 19 stone, I had a BMI of 49 and was told if I didn’t lose weight I’d die.
“Being obese was also causing fertility issues. I had tried for a decade to conceive, and nothing had happened.
“My dad passed away in 2017 and I was devastated. He left me some money and made me promise to do something life changing with it.”
Louise used £3000 to have a gastric sleeve which meant 90 percent of her stomach was removed in Turkey.
“I didn’t research the clinic and after the surgery developed a blood clot,” she says.
“I spent ten days in intensive care in a Turkish hospital, developed double pneumonia and almost died from an infection.
“I think the Canewdon witches were watching over me. If they had not, been I would have died on the operating table.”
Despite her brush with death Louise lost eight stone.
“As I lost the weight I exercised more and enjoyed a sense of freedom I had never encountered,” she says.
“I met a new partner and fell pregnant almost instantly thanks to my weight loss.
We love to joke about how everyone we know has lost a large amount of weight thanks to the white witch spells
Sunita
“Now I’m a proud and healthy mum to a 16-month-old son and a three-month-old daughter.
“When I saw Sunita suffering, I knew I had to help her reclaim her health.
“I encouraged Sunita to seek medical help.”
However, Sunita’s NHS consultant refused her requests for weight loss surgery saying she was too large for the procedure and there was a risk she would not survive it.
“That shocked me into action,” Sunita says.
“Louise helped me start a weight loss shake diet and in three months I managed to lose two stone.
“That two stone weight loss meant I could walk from my bedroom to the kitchen without losing my breath.
“It may seem such a small distance to the average person but for me it was like running a marathon.
“I started walking a lap of my house, then my garden and then to some of the local witching spots and a little more weight came off.”
Sunita’s parents were so concerned her father offered to pay for a private weight loss procedure in Britain.
In September 2022 Sunita had lost enough weight to undergo a £9k gastric sleeve procedure at the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford Essex.
“I was told I was ‘less likely’ to die having the procedure and I knew I had to take the risk,” she says.
“If I didn’t have the surgery, I knew I would die within the next five years as a result of my obesity.”
Following the surgery Sunita lost a further almost seven stone bringing her to nine stone total and has gone from a size 26 to a size 18.
“I have lost the equivalent weight to a baby rhino or 135 soup cans. I can’t believe it,” she says.
“I exercise by walking around the village and visiting the various sites linked to its spooky history.
“I can only eat a thumb size portion of food every meal. I still have to lose another three stone to get to my goal of 13 stone.
“I will need reconstructive surgery on both my knees. Every day I do chair yoga, I walk around my garden and Louise inspires me to go further every day.
“The surgery has given me back my life. It’s played a key role in helping me deal with my anxiety and depression.”
Sunita and Louise have lost 17 stone and another three friends in the village have lost a further twenty stone on their weight loss journey using exercise, simple dieting and weight loss injectables.
“Everyone in our tiny community has lost weight to live longer and critically change their lives whether that’s leading healthier lives or being able to have children,” Sunita says.
“Everyone knows everyone else, and we all share exercise tips and inspire each other, I could not have achieved my weight loss without the support of the village.
“Louise and I are testament to the fact that Britain’s witching village is full of good spirits and spells.
“We love to joke about how everyone we know has lost a large amount of weight thanks to the white witch spells.
“For the first time in a decade I don’t have to worry about going to bed and my lungs or heart being crushed by my morbidly obese body.
“I can see the future. I couldn’t have done it without the friends I made in the witching village.”
