The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
LUCIE IS THE BIGGEST LOSER!
21-year-old sheds 10st to win national title:
A young woman who struggled to walk to the park after hitting 19 stone has been named Slimming World’s Young Slimmer of the Year after shedding an incredible 10 stone in just 14 months.
Lucie Hadley (21) from Glinton used to be teased at school but has left many of her former classmates envious after her remarkable weight loss.
The former Arthur Mellows Village College pupil said she cannot believe her transformation after packing away the big breakfasts, chocolate and fizzy drinks for healthier alternatives, which has left her weighing 9 st 3 lbs.
Lucie said: “When I look through old photos of myself I can’t believe I’m the same person. My friends can’t believe how much confidence I have and how happy I am.
“I could not walk down to the park. Now I can walk out the door and not have to think what people are saying.”
Lucie used to “hide from the world” as she believed she was an “embarrassment” to her friends, parents and boyfriend Sam Papworth.
Nights out saw her hiding behind her handbag, feeling she did not fit in, while once on a sleepover she cut all the labels out of her clothes to try to hide her size.
The tipping point came just before her 20th birthday.
She said: “When Sam and my family asked what I wanted to do to celebrate I gave my stock reply: ‘nothing special, staying in will be fine’.
“It was at that moment that it finally sunk in.”
The inspiration for joining Slimming World came from inside her own household.
“Mum joined about seven months before I did. She brought magazines and recipe books in and urged me to do it,” said Lucie.
“I sort of realised I had lost all of my childhood - the fun, adventurous, exciting years your teenage years are meant to be.
“I knew if I did not do something about it I would also have my adulthood taken away and I could not let that happen.
“I was so determined - I had tried so many diets before but nothing fitted in with the young lifestyle. I went to a dietician when I was seven years old through my GP but nothing worked and I gave up hope. I thought ‘this is how I will be’.
“I have had lots of comments now from people who can’t believe I’m the same person. It’s nice to hear those words from them, but I still remember the tough memories from school.”
Lucie, a teaching assistant at the Phoenix School in Orton Goldhay, credits her family, boyfriend, boyfriend’s family and friends for helping to turn her life around, which means she can enjoy playing with her nieces and nephews.
Lucie’s lifestyle change means she has now ditched junk food for healthy versions of some of her favourite meals, or ‘fakeaways’.
“When friends come round I’ll dish up a healthy curry, which is always a big hit,” she added.
‘My friends can’t believe how much confidence I have’ Lucie Hadley