1. Women like youWomen like you
Sandra Miskimmin, 41,
and husband Patrick,
40, live in Northern
Ireland. They have
three children.
Getting breathless
going up the stairs
and struggling to get
off the sofa, at 39
I should have been
enjoying life. Instead
I just felt old.
I’d been a happy and confdent size 12.
I loved going to aerobics classes and had
always been athletic, until I fell pregnant in
2001. I started to suffer excruciating pain
in my pelvis. It was so bad, every step
would leave me screaming.
Unable to do anything, I spent the
next six months in bed piling on weight.
I had hoped that when Henry was born
I would be able to exercise again but,
still in agony, it was impossible.
Whereas before I could keep my
sweet tooth in check, now all I did was
get bigger – and the pain got worse.
I tried diets, but losing 1lb a week wasn’t
enough motivation for me.
By my late thirties, I was 14st and a size
16, stuck hobbling on crutches due to
pain. While my husband, Patrick, would
run around the park with the kids, I’d sit
on a bench and watch.
Then, in October 2013, a friend
suggested I try Slenderiiz – a programme
where you take homeopathic drops three
times a day, along with supplements, and
only eat from a list of approved foods.
In the frst month I lost almost a stone.
As the weeks passed, I no longer craved
sweets and, more importantly, with less
pressure on my joints, the pain was
disappearing too.
It’s hard to believe I’m down to 9st 9lb
and a size 8-10. Being able to run up the
stairs, or to sweep the kids into my arms,
is the best feeling in the world.
✱ slenderiiz-uk.com
It’snotallaboutlosingweight…Thesewomen
foundthattheygainedsomeveryspecialthings!
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‘Beingpain-freeisincrediBle!’
Jo Thomas, 40, lives in
East Sussex with her
partner Alan, 34, and
their two sons.
Most people get
expensive jewellery or
a trip of a lifetime for
their 40th, but not me
– I got a new body and
a new career!
I’ve yo-yo dieted
my way through
adulthood. Working in admin, I’d be the
one checking calorie counts one day and
living off cabbage soup the next.
When my son, Leo, was born in August
2010, my issues with food got even worse.
Suffering from post-natal depression,
I sought solace in overeating.
After recovering from the depression,
and having my second son, Ollie, in May
2012, I stood on the scales. As the dial
crept up, a gasp caught in my throat. I’d
put on 4st, taking me to 14st 1lb – huge
for my 5ft 5in frame. Desperate to ditch
my size 20 clothes for good, six weeks
after giving birth I joined Slimming World.
I cut back on snacking and followed their
Food Optimising programme, where you
eat all the healthy food you want but can
still indulge in treats – just not as often!
A year later, I’d lost almost 3st. Inspired
by how much my life had changed I
realised I wanted to do even more. So,
approaching my 40th, I quit my admin job
and bought a Slimming World franchise.
Now I have 180 members and earn £400
a week. And at 10st and a size 10, they can
see it is possible to slim. My forties are
already fabulous!
✱ slimmingworld.com
‘iwantedmyfOrtiestOBefaBulOus!’
diet BefOre:
✱ Breakfast cereal with sugar or a
bar of chocolate ✱ Lunch Ham and
cheese toastie, chocolate ✱ Dinner
curry or pie ✱ Snacks chocolate,
sweets, crisps
diet nOw:
✱ Breakfast Porridge with
sunfower seeds ✱ Lunch Spinach
and mushroom omelette ✱ Dinner
Stir-fry or spaghetti bolognese with
lots of vegetables ✱ Snacks apple,
handful of cashew nuts
Lynette Culverwell, 33,
lives with her husband
Daniel, 35, and their son
Toby, four, in Suffolk.
My wedding last year
was the best day of my
life. Everything from my
dress to the hours spent
twirling on the dance
foor was perfect – and
nothing like I’d imagined.
Growing up, my love
of pizza and cake, meant that by the time
I was 16, I was a size 18.
When I met Daniel two years later,
he seemed to like my curves! But after
moving in together, nights spent curled up
on the sofa with a takeaway gradually led
to those curves giving way to fat.
By the time our son Toby was born in
2010, I was 18st 7lb and a size 24. Daniel and
I had talked about marriage, but the idea of
walking down the aisle with all eyes on me
– and my fabby arms – made me cringe.
‘If we ever get married, it will have to be
just us there,’ I’d tell him. ‘And no photos.’
My weight ruled everything.
Then, in June 2013, I realised I had to do
something. Toby would be starting school
the following year and I couldn’t be the
embarrassing fat mum at the school gates.
So I started researching and found Kick Start
FatLoss,adietandexerciseclub,andsigned up.
I’d go along to a class each week and
started the food plan. The frst part –
a detox cleanse where you ditch sugar –
wasn’t easy! But within a week I had more
energy and I’d lost 9lb. As the weight fell off,
I found a confdence I’d never had.
That’s why, when Daniel proposed on
Valentine’s Day 2014, I didn’t hesitate.
Having already lost 5st, instead of the low-key
event I’d envisaged, when we married that
July the church was full of friends and family.
Now, at 11st 7lb and a size 14, I know I’ll
never have to sacrifce being happy because
of my weight again.
✱ kickstartfatloss.net
‘igOtavalentine’sdayprOpOsal!’
diet BefOre:
✱ Breakfast toast with butter or bacon,
eggs and sausage ✱ Lunch chicken
mayonnaise sandwich and crisps ✱
Dinner Sausage and mash, with bread
and butter ✱ Snacks chocolate, cake
diet nOw:
✱ Breakfast mushroom omelette or fruit
smoothie ✱ Lunch butternut squash
soup ✱ Dinner chicken or fsh with
salad ✱ Snacks none
diet BefOre:
✱ Breakfast toast and butter ✱ Lunch
Pizza and salad ✱ Dinner toad-in-the-
hole ✱ Snacks biscuits, cake
diet nOw:
✱ Breakfast Ryvita and a boiled egg
✱ Lunch Homemade soup ✱ Dinner
chicken with sweet potato wedges
and green beans ✱ Snacks carrot
sticks, houmous and a little chocolate
BefOre
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