GREAT Scott!
Scott Lynn, 48, a restaurant manager from Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, feels like a new person since losing 4st 6lbs
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I remember the day in 2019 when I’d really noticed my increasing weight. About to leave the house, I’d bent over and could barely tie my shoelaces. At more than 16st I was the heaviest I’d ever been. I had plantar fasciitis in my left foot – a painful inflammation in the arch – which meant spending all day on my feet at work had become agony, and had probably not been helped by my weight either. My father, Thomas, had been living with cancer for the last nine years, and as 2020 drew on we knew that time was running out for him. Becoming his full-time carer him made me reflect on my own health. I knew the biggest threat to my health, was my weight.
I’d been a Slimming World member around 20 years earlier, then after leaving the group I drifted back to my old eating habits. I knew now that if I was serious about losing weight for good, it was the best place to be. The moment I arrived at the group, though, it hit me how much my self-confidence had slipped since then. My Consultant, Janet, was incredibly welcoming and put me at ease.
Despite being an outwardly confident person, my low opinion of myself sometimes got in the way. And my once fashionable dress sense had become more about just covering myself up. I’d lost sight of the self-confident person I once used to be.
Janet and the other members in the group started to build me back up bit by bit. The group really helped me understand myself as a slimmer. I decided I would plan my meals on a Sunday, and I’d keep it simple. I made a batch of chicken and veg soup. It was filling and I really enjoyed it. So it became my staple at lunchtime. In the past I’d end up filling up on pizza or a cake from the coffee shop at work. Each week I lost around 1½lbs.
One of the things that really helped was the Slimming World app as I was able to track my food. After a couple of months, I wondered if adding in activity would help to motivate me. With support from Slimming World’s Body Magic programme to build up my activity gradually, the thought of exercising didn’t seem so off-putting. Three times a week, I’d walk around the streets near my home.
By the end of the year Dad’s health was failing badly, but he still noticed what was happening with me. ‘You’re looking great, son,’ he said. ‘It’s good to see you so fit and well.’ It meant everything to me. When Dad slipped away in January 2021, although I’d known for months it was coming, his loss was an awful shock.
Our group was virtual at that time, but I still felt enveloped in the love and support. It made me realise that the group was about so much more than weight loss.
I felt as though I’d gone into lockdown and emerged the other side as a totally new person. I gave all my clothes to a charity shop and bought myself a new wardrobe.
It felt like the old me, someone I’d forgotten existed, was re-emerging with a new attitude. Work seemed like a breeze compared with before, now my feet weren’t twinging with pain, and I found I was loving things that had once made me self-conscious.
At 48, I’m the fittest, healthiest and slimmest I have ever been, and I’m indulging my love of fashion more than ever. I hope Dad would be proud to see how I’m enjoying my freedom and making the most of every day. It’s great to feel like myself again, and with my old self-confidence soaring there’s no going back.