MUM SHEDS ALMOST HALF HER WEIGHT
AMUM lost almost half her body weight after deciding to get slim before a family holiday to Florida. After being diagnosed as borderline diabetic and told to lose weight by doctors, Maria Williams from Llanelli started eating less crisps and chocolate and cooking more fresh, healthy meals.
The 43-year-old is now set to run Cardiff half-marathon this year.
Maria said she had tried so many different diets and slimming programmes but had never managed to keep the weight off
“[My weight] was starting to affect my health, I’d been told from the last blood test that I had that I was on the borderline of being diabetic if I didn’t change my eating habits,” she said.
Gardener Maria would spend her days walking and bending down but her weight was starting to affect her joints and she could not walk up the stairs without getting out of breath. When her family booked a holiday for Christmas last year, she decided to join a Slimming World group and set herself a goal to lose weight before the holiday.
As well as her physical health, Maria said her mental health took a hit before she made changes to her lifestyle.
She said: “I wouldn’t go in a changing room, it was just the shame of seeing myself and all those mirrors around me. I was scared when I first walked in (to the Slimming World group) but they made me feel welcome. I realised you can eat all these wonderful meals and still have things like a cooked breakfast. I didn’t feel like I would be depriving myself.”
Since she went to her first group in 2021, Maria has lost almost 8.5 stone, going from 19.8 stone to just over 11.4 stone. Once wearing a size 22, Maria now wears a size 10 and is currently training for a half-marathon in October.
Before her weight loss journey Maria’s typical diet would see her start the day with three to four slices of white toast with butter or peanut butter before a mid-morning snack of a packet of crisps.
Lunch would be a baguette with butter, ham and cheese and a packet of crisps or chocolate bar or a McDonald’s meal. For dinner she would have breaded chicken, chips, beans and onion rings or meals made with sauces from jars. Maria said her diet consisted of lots of processed food and in the evening she’d snack on chocolate.
Now a typical day of eating for Maria starts off with two slices of wholemeal toast with low fat cheese spread, ham, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes or porridge with lots of fruit on top or a breakfast omelette. A banana or an apple has replaced the crisps as a morning snack. Lunch would be leftovers such as homemade chilli with a jacket potato or an omelette with salad or if Maria is on the go she will take a chicken sandwich to work with salad and fruit on the side.
Maria now cooks fresh meals for dinner like peanut butter chicken pasta, sausage jambalaya and other Slimming World recipes and for an evening snack it’s Twiglets or a Slimming World Hi-fi bar.
Six months ago, Maria decided to pull on her running shoes and try jogging to clear her mind and increase her fitness levels. She now runs 40km a week.
“Where I live we have a gorgeous coastal path, it’s so beautiful it makes me feel really good and running gets your endorphins going. It clears your mind, I put my music on and I’m just in my own mind,” explained Maria.
Now she wants to help others and has become a consultant for Slimming World. Her group will meet in Jerusalem Chapel in Burry Port on Wednesdays at 9.30am.