Elayne transformed by shedding amazing 11st
Livi woman wins weight loss award
While most people would be offended to be called a “loser”, one woman from Livingston is over the moon to be named the town’s “Greatest Loser” of 2017.
That’s because Elayne Dodds has lost a life-changing 11st 2.5lb to take the title, which is awarded to the member of the Livingston’s Grand Central Slimming World group who has lost the most weight – and now feels fabulous.
Elayne says: “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a loser when it feels this good! I feel like a new woman since losing weight – in fact, I look so different people who I haven’t seen for a while can’t believe I’m the same person.
“For me though it’s the change on the inside that’s been the greatest – I’m happier, healthier and much more confident now.”
Elayne joined the Livingston Monday group, which meets at 5.30pm and is run by Elaine Montague, in September 2015.
She says: “Before I lost the weight I hated having my photo taken and whenever I saw pictures of myself I knew that my smile wasn’t real. My weight impacted on so many aspects of my life, from struggling to find clothes to not being able to do everyday tasks.”
Elayne’s weight was also putting a huge strain on her health, she suffered from knee problems, severe heartburn, swelling of her lower legs and ankles along with severe backache. People who are severely overweight, with a BMI above 30, are also more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and cancer, and have a reduced life expectancy.
Elayne decided to join her local Slimming World group at Grand Central and says: “Walking through those doors was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was embarrassed about my size and scared I might be the biggest person there. I needn’t have worried though, everyone there was so friendly, especially my consultant Elaine, and I was so relieved when I found out that my weight was confidential between me and her.
“Since then I’ve made so many friends at the group and I honestly don’t think I could have done it without their support each week. They helped me with recipes and tips and if I was ever struggling they were always there to remind me why I’d wanted to lose weight in the first place and how far I’d come since first stepping through the doors.”
Elayne followed the club’s Food Optimising eating plan and swapped pies, sausage rolls and lots of takeaways for homemade Slimming World Chinese meals, like chicken curry, and spaghetti bolognaise. “People think slimming means going hungry, eating nothing but salad or counting every calorie, but it’s not like that at all at Slimming World,” She says. “It’s never once felt like I was on a diet – in fact, people are always surprised at how much food I have on my plate and can’t believe I’m losing weight eating so much delicious food.”
Today, Elayne has lost a total of 11st 2.5lb and gone from a size 26 to size 10. She’s also more active and regularly attends her local clubber-size class.
Elaine, who runs the Grand Central (Monday) Slimming World group, says: “I hope her success will inspire other people in Livingston who’d like to lose weight by forming new lifestyle habits. There’s a warm welcome waiting at Slimming World and, just think, if you start today you could feel like a completely new person just like Elayne.”
Slimming World’s 16,000 groups in the UK and Ireland have a national Greatest Loser competition and Elayne is now waiting to find out if she in the running for the £3,000 cash prize.
She says: “I would love to win but I didn’t lose weight to win a competition, I wanted to feel healthier and better about myself and I’ve definitely done that. I feel great and that’s priceless.”
The Livingston group meets every Monday at 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm at Grand Central.
To join, call Elaine on 0758 408 8707 or pop along. www
The Livingston group meet every Monday at 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm at Grand Central