Photos wake-up call for slimmer
A GRAN-OF-TWO has shared her amazing weight loss transformation after dropping eight dress sizes.
In December 2011, Sharon Willis lost her mum. which caused her to hit rock bottom and turn to food for comfort.
With a sweet tooth, Sharon says she has always struggled with her weight.
At only 5ft tall and weighing 12 stone at her heaviest, her wake-up call came when she saw photographs of herself.
Hating what she saw, Sharon decided to do something about her weight and joined Slimming World in May 2012.
Now, after losing more than three stone, Sharon is proudly wearing the pair of size-10 jeans that she bought as an incentive six years earlier.
The 50-year-old, from Longbenton, said: “At the time I didn’t really see myself as overweight, it was when I saw myself in photographs that it hit home and I knew I had to do something.
“Summer was the worst for me as I wanted to feel good wearing shorts, vest tops and summer dresses but the way my confidence was, I never felt comfortable in them.
“I’ve attended numerous exercise classes over the years and been on so many different diets, but I just couldn’t stick to them for long so the weight just crept up again and again.”
When Sharon first joined Slimming World, she was worried about going but she was made to feel welcome and she started to quickly shed the pounds.
By December 2014, Sharon’s hard work paid off as she reached her target weight of nine stone and was crowned “Woman of the Year” in her group.
But soon after she reached her target, Sharon stopped attending the group and her weight began to creep back up.
She added: “I made the mistake of not always attending the groups once I got to target, telling myself that I could do this on my own. I was wrong.”
Instead, the weight crept back on and by last year, she was unhappy once more.
Determined to lose weight, Sharon rejoined the gym and tried to eat healthily. Feeling like she needed extra support she rejoined Slimming World last October with a starting weight of over 11 stone and fitting into a size 14.
Sharon has lost a further two stone, is just four pounds off her target of nine stone, and can comfortably fit into size 10-12 clothes.
She has completed over 100 miles as part of the Great North Run Solo Challenge and been awarded her “Gold Body Magic Award” from Slimming World.
She added: “My starting weight the second time was still not great for my height. Some people might say size 14 is an OK size and it is, but I am a small person and it just didn’t sit right with me.
“Every meal I eat now is based around a Slimming World plan. All the family eats them and we’re all finding some new, tasty food that’s all made from scratch and not just put in the oven.
“I feel amazing and have found that I have so much more energy. I embraced the body magic and took up running.
“I can honestly say that I’m enjoying myself. When you try on those size 10 jeans that have been looking at you whenever you open your wardrobe and now they actually fit it is a wow moment and I’ve had plenty of those.
“If it wasn’t for Slimming World I know I may never have gotten into them.”
To join Slimming World Benton group at Blue Flames contact Jane on 0787 797 7851.