Jules loses four stone after divorce and now full of energy
A WOMAN has shared how she lost four stone in 10 months after comforting eating following her divorce.
Jules Dancey, 52, is originally from Barry but now lives in Llantrisant.
She is currently in the process of becoming a Slimming World consultant, but it wasn’t that long ago when she was battling with her own bad eating habits.
At her biggest, and unhappiest, she was a size 16 to 18 but now she is a slim and slender size 10.
And what’s more, she managed to shed four stone in just 10 months.
Talking about her journey, Jules said: “I joined Slimming World in November 2018.
“I tried many times before that, but I didn’t stick to it properly.
“I did all the things I should have, and followed the advice.
“I managed to lose four stone in 10 months.
“I have stayed at my target weight for a year now which, I think wow, because I always struggled.
“It’s all with Slimming World.” Jules admitted she had always battled with her weight a bit up until that point.
She said she was “chubby” as a child and, as she grew older and started working, she began to develop unhealthy eating patterns at work.
The grandmother is also a big tea-lover, and said she would often have a few biscuits with most cuppas during the day.
This is something she’s now learned to stop doing.
“You would never believe the life I lived before,” she said.
Speaking about her childhood, she added: “I like food and, in those days, if you finished what was on your plate you could have pudding.
“As a child, I was on the chubby side. “I had my children young so I was busy with them, then I did my nursing training so it was shift patterns, sleeping irregularly and people are so lovely they would bring in chocolates and you would eat them.
“It was unhealthy eating patterns.
“I got divorced three years ago and I came to eat all the way through my marriage breakdown.
“I just wanted to get through a day and that was it.”
Jules said one of the things she loves most now is being able to go into a clothes shop and buy what she wants to buy.
When she was bigger, she said she would often go for things that suited her shape or that she thought looked better rather than the things she really loved.
Jules said: “It’s that feeling of being able to chose what you want rather than ‘I love this but I can’t wear it’.”
Discussing her eating habits, she said: “It was comfort eating and emotional eating.”
Lockdown has led to restrictions on groups like Slimming World, but Jules said the team have been “fantastic” at supporting others as much as they can over the past few months.
Up until the latest Welsh lockdown changes, they have not meeting as a group, but they have been able to attend pay and weigh sessions.
Some members also meet on Zoom every so often to catch up and offer each other needed support.
Jules has also enjoyed running throughout lockdown, as she has also been focusing on her improving her exercise as well as her diet. It’s a complete transformed lifestyle for her, as she said she used to lock herself in the cupboard at school to get out of PE lessons.
Jules said: “I run, so I have run throughout lockdown. I went from never doing any running at all.
“In fact, I used to lock myself in the cupboard at school. I did a half-marathon last summer.”
Now Jules is enjoying her life more as she’s feeling a lot healthier and happier. She’s also looking forward to working with her new group at Slimming World.
When asked how she’s feeling now following the weight loss, Jules said: “Amazing – I have a lot of energy. I would run around with my grandchildren and be out of breath.
“I can do things now that I struggled to years ago. People who have known me a long time say they can’t believe I’m the same person.
“I’m much happier. I feel alive – I feel happy and alive. Life isn’t perfect, but I just think I can do this now.”
Jules’ Slimming World class is based in Tyla Garw.