I lost five stone – now I’m healthier and happier!
Helen Price was overweight for years before a health scare shocked her into shedding six dress sizes and getting the flattest stomach!
Stepping on to the scales, I held my breath, screwed up my courage and looked down: 15st 12lbs.
I couldn’t say I was happy about it – at 5ft 6in, I was officially overweight, probably obese – but I have to admit I was a little relieved. I had a horrible feeling this wasn’t the heaviest I’d been…
And, in a way, it didn’t matter what my exact weight was. As a size 22 and aged 31, it was finally time to take control and slim down.
I’d been overweight for years, ever since I’d got my first job as an estate agent in my hometown of Bicester and moved out of the family home at 18. Out socialising and buying any food that I could get from the freezer to the oven to my plate in 20 minutes, it was inevitable. My fruit bowl was non-existent and I never ate vegetables. By the time I met my now-husband Ryan at work at an estate agents, at the age of 21, I was a size 18. But I never let my size hold me back. I was always social, making jokes – although I can now see that a lot of my confidence was a front.
But when Ryan, now 35, proposed and we set a date for April 2008, I decided to lose weight for our big day. And I did. Six whole stones. And when I walked down the aisle as a perfect size 10, I felt like I was floating on air.
I managed to keep the weight off for 18 months but then I fell pregnant. That was the excuse I needed to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
After I gave birth to Toby, now 11, I tried to lose weight. But I don’t think I was in the right headspace. Aware that I wanted another baby, I decided it wasn’t worth going to all of the effort losing the weight, just to gain it again – so I didn’t.
I remained in my maternity clothes until
I had William, now nine… and afterwards. With two small boys, my health and fitness were the bottom of my priority list. I focused on my boys and Ryan, and I existed on oven food, chocs and crisps.
Then in early 2016, I fell pregnant for a third time and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was horrified, especially when I found out that it increased my chance of developing regular diabetes.
That was my lightbulb moment. I’d buried my head in the sand for too long.
So that was why, after I gave birth to Lottie in December 2016, I joined Slimming World.
‘You can lose weight without being hungry,’ my consultant promised. I wasn’t convinced. She hadn’t seen how much I could eat. You don’t get to a size 22 with a small appetite…
But I decided to try and, with Ryan’s support, I started cooking fresh meals every night and stocking up on more fruit and vegetables than I ever had in my life. And I was delighted to find out that
I didn’t have to give up chocolate – I bought me and Ryan a Curly Wurly for ‘dessert’ every night.
You could have knocked me down with a feather when I’d already lost 11lbs the first week! Maybe the consultant was right… you could lose weight without being hungry.
I never felt deprived. I could go out for meals, snack whenever I wanted, eat curries or burgers, all while getting slimmer – and, more
‘It wasn’t worth losing weight to gain it again’
importantly, healthier. When I’d lost four-anda-half stone – the same weight as my son, Toby – I remembered giving him a piggyback and barely being able to pick him up. ‘How on earth was I carrying all that extra weight?’ I wondered.
I soon realised that I often used food as a reward and so I made a list of other ways to treat myself. So for every 7lbs I lost, I’d indulge in a bath with candles, or get my nails done, or buy flowers. I’d set my first target at 11st but really, I’d just plucked that number out of thin air. Since I’d had children, my whole body had changed, so I had no idea what weight I should be. So when I was approaching 11st, I decided to lower it to 10st 7lbs.
I didn’t take the direct route to my target, more of a scenic road. But in May 2019, I reached 10st 3lbs – just in time for our family holiday to Turkey! And I wasn’t the only one.
Ryan, who’d stuck to the diet in solidarity, had lost 3st, going from a 40in waist to a 34in.
My new weight changed my life completely. In February 2020, Ryan and I climbed over the O2 Arena. It was something we’d talked about before but never got round to. As we completed the walk, I realised I’d maybe been putting it off, for fear I wouldn’t finish it.
It was the same when we went to the Peak District. ‘I’d never have been able to do this before,’ I beamed to Ryan, after we completed a 12K walk over the hills and mountains.
There was only one thing bothering me – my stomach. After three pregnancies, not to mention the years of overeating, my weight loss had left it wobbly. So in May this year, I paid £12,000 – part savings, part loan – for a tummy tuck and a breast lift.
As soon as I came round, I had a sneaky look and instantly knew it was worth it. All of my hard work had paid off.
Now 36, I feel so good about myself, I’ve become a Slimming World consultant, so I help other people feel just as wonderful!