I first gained weight after the birth of my eldest son, Huw. As a GP, I felt hypocritical giving advice on a healthy lifestyle when I was struggling with my weight myself. The real turning point came when a patient asked when my baby was due. I was mortified – I wasn’t pregnant and I had no idea what to say.
I joined my local Slimming World group and went on to reach my target after losing 4st 5lbs.
Initially, I made the mistake of thinking my journey was over and thought I could carry on alone. I soon regained the weight, though, and when I later became pregnant with twins, eating healthily became even more difficult.
After the twins, Sarah and Gareth, were born I found myself at almost 13st, the heaviest I’d ever been, so I knew I needed to do something about it. A friend had mentioned she was going to Slimming World and, of course, I knew the plan worked, so I decided to give it another go.
When I reached my target for the second time, I knew that didn’t mean I’d stop going to group.
This time I knew I needed the support of my group to help maintain it. And even though I’ve been at target for so long, I still learn something new each week and going to group really helps to keep me on track.
Even the second time around, it was still hard to believe that you could eat to satisfy your appetite and have your treats and still lose weight!
My children have grown up around me cooking hearty meals from scratch and have seen their mum being healthy and active from a young age, so I think it’s set them up for happy and healthy lives themselves. Since I’ve lost weight I’ve started swimming and going to the gym, and I never feel breathless any more.
When I first lost the weight, patients would ask me how I did it and of course I’d tell them all about Slimming World, although now many of my patients have only ever known me as a slim person, so they’re quite shocked that I used to struggle with my weight.
I can’t recommend Slimming World highly enough. I’ve encouraged a few friends and work colleagues to join and they’re all huge fans now, too.
*Weight loss will vary due to your individual circumstances and how much weight you have to lose.