Shopping back on menu after model sheds weight
AFORMER glamour model who was so ashamed of her weight she avoided going to the supermarket lost four-and-half-stones in a matter of months.
Sophie Monaghan, from Southport, used to model for magazines like Nuts and Loaded, but gained weight after she left the industry aged 30, in order to start a family.
During and after pregnancy, Sophie gained five stones through eating whatever she wanted, from Domino’s takeaways and convenience foods to sugary snacks.
At her heaviest, she weighed 15 stone but after the birth of her second child, Seb, in May 2020, she decided to take the plunge and join Slimming World during the second national lockdown.
Since then, the 37-yearold has slimmed down to 10st 7lb, after shedding 4st 7lb in just 23 weeks.
Sophie, who is mum to Martha, five, and Seb, eight months, said: “Going back to when I used to model I never used to have a problem with my weight.
“I could eat whatever I wanted and go out every week and have a hangover Maccies and I never had a problem.
“I was working two days out of a month so the rest of those days I was a girl in my mid-20s living with my friends. I was just having fun, going out drinking and living life but I wasn’t taking care of myself.”
When she first became a glamour model Sophie said: “It was exciting and fun and everything was new, but it’s a young person’s game.
“I think the major pressure was put on me by myself. [Work] would make the odd comment here and there over 10 years but at the time it was joking around. I remember them saying stuff, silly things like ‘you’ve been eating a lot of Mars bars while you’ve not been at work’.
“Once they spoke to my agent and said ‘look Sophie has got a bit fat, you need to reign her in a bit’.
“When you’re 30 and there’s 18 to 19-year-olds coming in with totally different body shapes to you in a shoot, I always felt like their mum.”
After leaving the industry, Sophie went on to get married and have children with her partner, Adam, and it was during this time that she gained the weight.
Sophie said: “When I stopped modelling I was older and my metabolism slowed down and I started putting on weight. Once I’d got Martha in bed then it would be time for me to sit on the coach.
“I’d just order a Domino’s and have that because I was tired all day looking after my baby and my body was asking for something sugary to stay awake.”
Despite managing to lose the weight she had gained after giving birth to Martha, Sophie said she ended up putting it all back on again when she fell pregnant with Seb.
After Seb was born, Sophie said she got to the point where she feared going to the supermarket in case someone would see her.
“I would try to go to the corner shop if I could get away with it because I didn’t want to see someone down the supermarket,” she said.
It was during the second lockdown that Sophie decided to join her local Slimming World group in Southport – and she’s made amazing progress since then.
She said doing the classes over Zoom due to the lockdown restrictions was ‘perfect’, as this meant she didn’t have to see people in person while she wasn’t feeling confident.
By switching her bad habits for food optimising, Sophie has managed to lose a whopping fourand-a-half stones in less than six months.
“It’s such a good way of dieting. I don’t even think it’s dieting – they call it food optimising,” said Sophie.
“You can eat lots but it’s all good foods and it helps you to make better decisions. We eat so much fruit and veg now, I’ve never been healthier.”
Due to her weight loss Sophie said she is now able to run around after her kids and she’s even taken up running.
Her husband has also been inspired by her journey and has now joined Slimming World himself.
She added: “It gives you so much more energy.
“Before just walking around the block or doing chores my knees would hurt and I would sit down more – it was a vicious cycle.
“It’s made my life easier.”