Samantha was stuck in a cycle of binging on ‘free’ foods with no idea how to break out of it. Now, with the support of her Xpress meetings she’s 4st lighter and feeling on top of the world after fitting into her dream wedding dress.
- Weight lost: 4st*
- Weight loss plan: TotalFast
“From the age of 16 I’ve struggled with my body image and self-confidence; I just never felt good enough. I found that running helped me manage my emotions but as I got older I found comfort in food instead. Cookies were my weakness: I couldn’t just have one, I’d finish the whole packet even though I knew I wasn’t hungry for them.
Where was I going wrong?
I’d been going to a slimming club on and off for years in the hope of losing weight, stuck in a cycle of binging on ‘free’ foods with no idea of how to break out of it. I was constantly feeling overwhelmed by this addiction I had with food and I just became obsessed with the number on the scales.
Then in January 2019 I came home from the slimming meeting and burst into tears. ‘Why wasn’t this working for me?’ I asked my mum and then fiancé, Warwick. In that moment my mum knew I needed a different approach and she suggested LighterLife. She’d been looking into it and thought the combined diet plan and behaviour-change approach was exactly what I needed.
On 24th January I went along to my local LighterLife Slimming Club where I met Mentor, Emma. The first thing that struck me about the meeting, other than that it was free, was the lack of weight-loss talk; my weight or weight loss wasn’t disclosed, I wasn’t grilled for having a bad week and food wasn’t the focus. Instead, after the weigh-ins, the meeting focused around changing our mindset and discussing what was underpinning our relationship with food, something I never had asked myself before.
My dress was my goal
With my wedding coming up in June, I had purchased my dream dress three sizes smaller to give myself a visual goal. I wanted to lose four stone by the wedding and with the LighterLife TotalFast plan I was told I could absolutely reach that goal. Taking a break from ordinary food was revolutionary.
I didn’t have to prepare or plan my meals which meant for the first time in a long time I wasn’t constantly thinking about food. I also really liked LighterLife’s total diet replacement meals – Foodpacks – they’re delicious, especially the Chocolate Mug Cake. Who said diet food couldn’t be yummy? I was so surprised how easy it was to follow, too; all I had to do was choose four products for the day and I knew I was getting all the nutrition my body needed without the excess calories.
I lost 8lb in my first week. I couldn’t believe it! The rate of weight loss kept me coming back each week and I always felt confident going for my weigh-in. I always stayed for the whole meeting because I loved how the room was filled with so much positivity and comradery. We recently discussed compliments and how we receive them. It was so interesting how we all resonated with deflecting kind words rather than saying thank you. It’s like it’s ingrained in us to follow up a compliment with ‘Oh, this old thing? It’s only from a charity shop’ or ‘Thanks, but I’ve still got a long way to go’.
With the help of my Mentor and the support of my family I found the confidence to feel like a beautiful bride, it’s great to look like one but to truly feel content with yourself is the real goal. I felt amazing on our wedding day, wearing the dress which had once seemed like an unattainable dream. Dreams really do come true when you work hard and give it your all – I’m so proud of myself.
My Mentor made the difference
The free virtual meetings were an absolute lifeline. I learnt so much about myself. It’s so comforting to know you’re not alone and I now find myself encouraging others to join because LighterLife has worked so well for me. Coming from someone who’s tried every diet out there, that’s really saying something!”
Get starter today and find your nearest LighterLife Mentor by clicking here.
