“I didn’t know I could feel this good!
Hollie Barrett chased her daughter up the stairs to bed to read her a book. But when she reached the top, she was huffing for air, unable to read. What is wrong with me? Hollie wondered. I have two beautiful children and I can’t be the Mum they deserve because of my weight.
Past attempts at dieting had left Hollie feeling hungry, frustrated and stuck, but when she noticed a friend on social media posting about her amazing weight loss with Slimming World, Hollie felt a flicker
of hope. Seeing photos of her friend’s meals and knowing she wouldn’t have to limit portions or deprive herself of chocolate cinched the deal.
On the plan, Hollie began cooking with lean cuts of meat, lots of veggies and low-calorie sprays while still enjoying favorites like bacon, whole-wheat toast and burgers. “To think, the fact that I can still have fries is amazing,” she says. “They are cooked slightly different but they taste just as good—if not better—than deep-fried.”
That first week, Hollie lost 10 pounds. “I couldn’t believe it,” she cheers, “especially considering how much food I had enjoyed.” Flash forward 13 months: Hollie shed 122 pounds and erased her joint pain, low energy and breathlessness. Her kids loved the change. “Before, when we would go swimming, Daddy would go to the pool and Mummy would go to the café and watch,” says Hollie. “When I went to the changing room with them for the first time, they were so excited!”
Now Hollie feels like a hero in her own story. “I still find it overwhelming. I don’t take it for granted,” she says. “I love racing my daughter up the stairs to bed. It’s our thing. I say, ‘Mummy’s going to beat you!’”