DIET AFTER
Fruit with fat-free yoghurt Homemade soup or jacket potato with a big salad Homemade curry, lasagne, chilli or a roast Fruit, SW Hi-fi bars, crab sticks
BREAKFAST LUNCH
DINNER
SNACKS syn alternatives. Instead of chocolate digestives, I’d have rich tea fingers so I could still have a biscuit with a cuppa if I wanted to. I still bought the regular ones for the rest of the family, but
I had my own tin with lower calorie options in it.
I started enjoying healthier breakfasts of fruit with yoghurt and had homemade soups for lunch. And for dinner I would cook dishes like lasagne or curry from scratch. I managed to swap out my sugary snacks and replace them with fruit and Slimming World hi-fi bars.
My target weight was 12st and I hit that in under a year. I’ve carried on following the plan ever since. Because nothing is off limits, I don’t feel restricted so it just becomes a way of life.
I started an Instagram account to inspire other people and I’ve gained a whole new circle of friends through my Slimming World group too. We always go for coffee and a catch-up after our Friday morning meeting, and I feel like I’ve made some life-long besties which has been a real bonus.
Now 54 and a size 12-14, my whole attitude towards myself has changed. One day, I was looking through some photos and I found an old one of me and actually looked at it and thought, blimey, was that really me?
It was quite shocking to look back on and it’s something
I never want to go back to.
When you see the change happening, whether it’s the weight coming off or going down a dress size, you start to like yourself more when you look in the mirror. Now I look at photos of myself and think, this is the me I always wanted to be.
If people notice me now, they’re seeing the real me not just my size and I actually enjoy it. My oversized days are gone for good. ● Follow Carmel on Instagram @carms_37