“My life’s Changed for the better”

Singer Caroline Bailey dropped five-and-a-half stone in just a year – here, she shares how her new lifestyle has completely transformed her health, confidence and career

Caroline Bailey has never felt better after shedding five-and-a-half stone. The Cork mum began to develop unhealthy eating habits and her weight crept up over time until she felt it affecting her fitness.

As a singer and performer, it’s important for Caroline to be on top of her game and in good shape and she began to feel her weight was impeding her ability to perform.

“My band is very energetic,” she said. “I could feel myself putting on more and more weight because I had so many bad eating habits.

“I’d be gigging late at night and stopping off at the drive-through and eating convenient food but it wasn’t good for me. I got to a stage where I was 19-and-a-half stone.

“I’ll never forget I was playing at a wedding and everyone was out on the floor – usually I would be the person getting involved and running around with my microphone and things like that. But this time I could barely move on the stage, I couldn’t get out into the crowd because I had gotten to a point where I couldn’t sing and dance around at the same time. I was so out of breath.”

It was at that point where Caroline decided she needed to make a change, not only for her health but for her livelihood.

“I want to do this forever, this is my dream job,” said Caroline. “I’m the lead singer, I get everyone up and moving. I can’t do that if I’m not fit.”

Caroline had tried a variety of diets and plans in the past, but they didn’t work for her. I did so many diets, I drank the shakes, I remember even going to bed at six o’clock at one point to stop myself eating,” she said. “It’s no way to be living.”

Caroline decided to give the Slimming World plan a go and found it was amazing for her, and she dropped five-and-a-half stone in 12 months. For her, the key was avoiding restriction and eating what you wanted but trying to make it slightly healthier.

“I love food and it doesn’t work for me if a food is off limits,” she said. “Some diets say you can’t have carbs, you can’t eat after 8pm, you can’t have this or that.

“But with this plan I can enjoy any of the foods I want just by tweaking them a bit. I make so many lovely fake aways at home and it means I don’t miss unhealthy takeaways. But you can still have them every so often as a treat!

“No food is ‘bad’ or off limits, it’s just about making the plan work around you and your lifestyle and creating better habits long-term – that’s what helps you lose the weight and keep it off.”

Now at her healthiest, Caroline feels amazing.

“I can move a lot more!” she continued. “I went from a size 20-22 to a size 10-12. I’m so much more confident. “It’s definitely changed my life for the better. If I never had that moment where I realised how bad it had gotten, I would have just gotten bigger and unhealthier and I probably wouldn’t have the life that I want to have or the time that I’m going to have with my daughter.”

For anyone in a similar situation who wants to shed some weight, Caroline says that even though the concept of starting a weight loss journey can be intimidating, the best way to start off strong is to just go for it.

“Make a plan and start,” she said. “You will never, ever regret bettering your health.”

Joining a weight loss group or having friends and family in a similar boat can also help you stay on track, as you’re all pursuing the same goals. “Getting support from others, especially others going through the same thing, can make the world of difference,” she said.

I love food and a diet doesn’t work for me if a food is off limits

■ Caroline shares some of her favourite weight loss tips and recipes on her social media. You can follow her on Instagram @its_carolinebailey and on TikTok @carolinebailey_88.