I thought I was too fat to join Slimming World but now I’ve lost 12st – here’s how you can too
A MUM of three who thought she was too fat to join Slimming World has lost 12 stone on the plan. Retail manager Claire Entwistle said she had become too big to wear the clothes she sold at her store in Lancashire. The 45-year-old weighed in at a whopping 23 stones but has now dropped […]
A MUM of three who thought she was too fat to join Slimming World has lost 12 stone on the plan.
Retail manager Claire Entwistle said she had become too big to wear the clothes she sold at her store in Lancashire.
The 45-year-old weighed in at a whopping 23 stones but has now dropped an incredible 20 dress sizes and weighs 11 stones.
Claire said: “I had got too fat to wear the clothes I sell, but now, I actually model them online. I love shopping for clothes. It’s a whole new world.”
Claire had no weight issues as a child but began piling on the pounds aged 19 after moving in with her husband, Mark.
She says: “We were very comfortable and had lots of takeaways; I especially loved a curry, and I had to have the full works, poppadoms and starters.
“I’d often sneak in a McDonalds on my way home from work – before my evening meal.”
Claire said she was constantly snacking throughout the day.
“I’d have a family size bar of Dairy Milk, a donut, a bottle of full fat Coke. I wasn’t satisfied until I had eaten so much that I couldn’t move off the sofa.
“But though I was gaining weight, I was really happy. It didn’t ruin my life at all”, she added.
At 5’6”, claired weighed 23 stones and was a dress size 30.
Claire got to the point where she could not wear any of the clothes she sold in her shop.
She says: “I loved picking out clothes for my customers, but I would hide myself away underneath dark, baggy clothes. I couldn’t fit into the clothes I was selling.
“If we were going out for a meal I’d check ahead that the restaurant had a chair suitable for me. Or if we were flying somewhere I’d check there’d be a suitable seat belt extender.
“I couldn’t even tie my own shoelaces. Yet I wasn’t even interested in losing weight. I kept insisting I was happy just as I was.”
But in March 2019, Claire’s mum-in-law, Vanda, joined Slimming World – and she finally decided to give it a go.
She says: “I didn’t tell anyone I was going, because I felt sure I was going to fail. I was thinking I was too fat to even join.”
But in her first week alone, Claire lost a whopping 11lbs, and it gave her the confidence to go back.
The 5 easy ways to lose weight fast
Top dietitian Susie Burrell says that blitzing body fat doesn't need to be taxing.
Here’s five ways you can lose weight without gruelling gym workouts or strict diets.
Focus on time of day eating : Limiting the amount of time you’re eating throughout the day will help you shed those pesky pounds.
Susie says: “A growing body of research shows that when we limit our eating to just eight to ten hours each day, or not eating for 14 to 16 hours of each day is a strategy that appears to support weight control minus any specific calorie counting or dietary rules”.
Choose whole foods: Eating whole foods will help you slash your daily calorie intake and blitz body fat, according to Susie.
She says: “It has been shown that consuming whole foods – such as a steak as opposed to mincemeat; or wholegrain bread rather than white results in a higher calorie burn than the more processed food alternatives.”
Focus on vegetables: Adding more fruit and vegetables to your diet can provide you with speedy weight loss with results that are much more likely to last than fad diets.
Have a treat: Susie firmly believes that allowing yourself to have a little treat every now and again will help you stick to your diet.
Get organised: Preparing your own food rather than buying it will help you cut down on your calorie intake – and ultimately lose weight.
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Her weight loss continued – and she has now lost 12 stones. She weighs 11 stones and has dropped from a dress size 30 to a size 10.
She says: “Every Wednesday at work we do a Facebook live and I model the clothes and describe how they feel and how to wear them.
“I love it. I could never have worn the clothes we sell beforehand. And now this has brought a new joy to my job and, in fact, to my entire life.”
