Winner of ‘SUPER FAN OF UNISLIM CLUBS FACEBOOK PAGE 2011’
Like the majority of Unislimmers, I have always struggled with my weight. Up to about 9 months ago, I had come to grips with the fact that I was a “bigger” girl and that it wasn’t my fault, just the way I was built – after all – I didn’t eat loads in the first place. I never had a breakfast, I would pick at lunch time, and would have what I thought was a decent dinner. That’s not eating that much is it? However, I never took into account all of the rubbish I was eating between my meager meals – especially at night time.
I work 9-5 and am part of 2 musical societies, so for the bulk of the, year my evenings are spent in rehearsals. Once again, fooling myself that being so active would compensate for getting home at 11 at night after a busy rehearsal, to eat a packet of crisps, a bowl of cereal, a few slices of toast and a bar of chocolate, stopping off at the McDonalds Drive Thru on the way home, or the odd late night curry. Sure I had been busy all day and night, I really deserved it.
Only when I saw the play back DVD of a show I had recently been in to see myself look like, well, what I can only describe as “a tank”, did I actually get the kick I needed to get myself in gear. If they say the camera adds 10lbs, well there must have been about 10 camera’s on me. My new years resolution for 2010 was to look the best I ever had for my 30th birthday in November. However, it was now mid September and I was bigger than I had ever been. Squeezing my size 18 dresses onto me, and living in spanx – even when I went to Turkey in August on holiday (50 degree heat with a full lycra body suit on is so not cool).
I had tried everything in the past in regards to diets – the “eat only white things diet” – don’t ask me where I heard that one from but some celebrity swore by it, the horrendous “cabbage diet”, the Atkins diet, diet pills that looked like horse tranquillizers and suppressed my appetite and even reached my gold with Weight Watchers – by god I was a trier. But would put the weight back, pretty much immediately. What I have realized was that my diet was changing for these brief periods of times, but my outlook towards food, towards what my body needed hadn’t.
I joined Unislim mid Sept 2010, after seeing Nicola Bleakley on The Apprentice. I couldn’t believe she had lost 7 stone in a year. The next day, I went online to Unislims website and read her story. There were so many elements of her journey that I related to, I found myself in tears reading it, but totally uplifted at the same time – if she could lose 7 stone in a year, I could surely loose 3. I went on to read the other success stories and decided that this was it. Time to make a change. I called the Unislim office to find out where in Dublin there was a meeting. I didn’t care if it was 50 miles away, I had to go to one that night. I couldn’t go another night feeling the way I did. Luckily there was one just up the road from me! I went that night and haven’t looked back since.
Within my first 2 weeks I had lost a half stone – I couldn’t believe it. By my 30th Birthday party in early November I was down a stone and although I knew I had a long way to go, I felt like a million dollars in my dress. It’s amazing what that first stone does to you. It doesn’t just make your clothes feel better on you – or allow you to start thinking about smaller sizes. It actually gives you the “gladiator girl” feeling that you have taken control and that boosts your confidence like nothing else in the world.
My leader Karen was amazing, always supportive with texts and emails – it’s like she knew if I was having a bad day. And my new leader Jennifer is a fantastic support now, always on hand with tips, encouragement and a friendly smile. And also with yummy tasters for class!
Now, I am 38lbs down, nearly there now. My attitude towards food has completely changed. My eating habits have totally changed. I have stopped eating bread in 2’s! If I have bread, which is quite rarely now, I have one slice of wholemeal and cut that in half. I eat my 3 meals a day, my two healthy snacks. If you compare that to what I was eating before my journey, I am actually eating way more than I did when I was bigger. I always track from the night before, so I am in control of everything that I am eating and leave as little room for error as possible – planning is definitely key.
As a facebook fiend, I am constantly on the Unislim Clubs page, which has been an invaluable tool for me. I would recommend every member of Unislim to check it out and get involved. The encouragement, the tips, the friendly banter and the pick me ups when you are having a bad day, really make the difference on those days where you think “what the hell, I am gonna just eat that chocolate”. I have so many friends there that I have never met before, but have made a difference to my life, I have to thank them for their help and encouragement on my journey. Everyone has been super supportive of me, my family, my friends, my work colleagues. Without that, it’s so easy to just fall behind and let one bad day become a bad week and then deciding not to go get weighed next week.
Now, I can 100% say that I am a happier person, I love getting out for my walks, doing my Unislim DVD (still trying to build up the stamina so I can smile the whole way through it like Fiona Gratzer!) I walk taller now and love how my dresses fit me. Unislim has definitely changed my life.
