A woman who gained five stone and ballooned to a size 22 after having her second child says she knew she had to lose weight after finding herself relying on a mobility scooter to get around. Amy Cunningham, 37, a mum of two from Merseyside, suddenly found herself out of breath and unable to carry out much physical activity after putting on weight.
Amy, who works as Head of Resourcing in an NHS Trust, realised things had come to a head during a once-in-a-lifetime family holiday to Florida. During the trip, she struggled with her weight so much that she was unable to walk around theme parks – instead having to hire a mobility scooter to get around or sit down every 20 minutes to catch her breath.
She felt so self-conscious that she refused to be in any family photos and was the one taking pictures instead, but this impacted her emotions even further and she comfort ate throughout the holiday – turning to pizzas, burgers, and chips, causing her to gain another stone and a half in just two weeks.
After the holiday Amy had to attend an awards event for work and ordered a Size 22 dress, but cried when she tried it on and looked into the mirror. “My relationship with food was never really a problem growing up,” Amy said. “I noticed I started to gain a little weight once I began my relationship with my now husband due to going out for meals or getting takeaways, but my weight remained quite constant.
“After the birth of my second daughter, my weight began to spiral and I was putting more and more weight on over time. I wasn’t eating the right things and was eating a lot of takeaways for ease and convenience rather than cooking meals and watching what I was eating.
“After I came back from my trip to Florida with my husband and two daughters for two weeks I was at the biggest weight I had ever been at and had put a stone on during that holiday. I was eating burgers and pizzas daily. When I came back from holiday none of my clothes fit me and I had a work awards ceremony and had to buy a size 22 dress and that’s when I knew my weight was out of control.
“I felt really upset about it. I didn’t feel like myself, didn’t want to be photographed, didn’t like looking in the mirror and my confidence was at an all time low. I felt like I didn’t want to meet up with friends because I was embarrassed by how big I had got, especially friends I hadn’t seen in a long time where it would really stand out how much weight I had gained.
“If I did go out, I didn’t feel comfortable and would feel self conscious.”
Realising she was missing out on quality time with her children and avoiding social occasions she once looked forward to, she turned to The 1:1 Diet and, with the help of her consultant Charlotte, decided to turn her life around. Amy began her weight management journey at the start of August and, since then, has taken part in a charity skydive – something that made her feel amazing as she was finally under the maximum weight to take part.
“I went on The 1:1 Diet website and searched for a consultant,” Amy said. “I found my consultant Charlotte, she looked really friendly and knowing she had been through the journey as well made me want to reach out and get her help.
“From that first meeting I knew instantly that she would support me and help me get to where I wanted to be. She was my biggest cheerleader, always super excited when I lost weight and regularly checked in on me to see how I was doing.
“I began on step two, which involved having four meal replacements a day. I drank two litres of water a day and occasionally black or green tea. I was on this for five months and lost four stone. I then moved on to step two where I had three meal replacement products a day and a meal such as chicken breast and salad.
“I lost another stone during this time. I am currently on step three where I have two meal replacement products a day, a 150 calorie lunch and a 400 calorie evening meal. I have lost another stone and a half on this plan.
“I also invested in a treadmill when I began my diet and began walking for 30 minutes a day and have done this daily to get my steps in. If I’m working in the office I spend my 30 minute lunch break walking as well. I’m much more active now, regularly going out and walking with my family and getting 10,000 steps in.
“It’s involved having strong willpower and dedication and determination to get me this far and I’ve made it my mission to get the weight off and be a more healthier version of myself. I’ve lost 6 and a half stone, going from 17 stone 4 lbs to 10 stone 13 lbs and from a size 22 to a size 10 to 12.”
Amy feels super happy with her weight loss, saying she feels more confident, energetic and positive. I feel so much better – it’s honestly changed my life,” she said. “I feel so much more confident in myself and look forward to meeting up with friends.
“I don’t feel so self conscious now when looking in the mirror and I feel like I have so much more energy with my two children and love chasing them round the park. My body doesn’t ache when I walk or exercise because I’m not carrying so much weight.
“It’s allowed me to tick things off my bucket list like taking part in a charity sky dive from 15,000ft which at my previous weight wasn’t even an option as I was so heavy and wouldn’t have been able to do it as the maximum weight for my BMI was 13 stone. I applied for a promotion in work and was successful which again was down to my confidence and not something I think I’d have gone for before.
“I went to my staff awards this year in a size 12 dress and I felt amazing to wear it and feel nice and normal like everybody else who was there rather than frumpy and overweight. I remember crying when I tried on the size 22 dress the year before and was so unhappy with how I looked but I had no other options.
“This year I cried because I couldn’t believe I was in a size 12 dress and it fit me. My family and friends have all been so proud and happy for me! My husband especially has admired my dedication and willpower for setting myself this goal of losing the weight and achieving it.
“His actual words were ‘if we could bottle your will power and sell it we would be millionaires!’ My family have been super proud and said I look like a new person. My friends have noticed how much more comfortable I am in myself and even though they loved me regardless of my weight they understood why I took the steps I have and that I have inspired them to want to try the diet.
“My two daughters are incredibly proud of me like that I can chase them and do more things with them which makes it even more worth doing.”
Amy hopes to inspire others to take weight loss and fitness into their own hands. “If you’re in the right mindset anything is possible,” she said. “Seeing the progress on the scales and in your clothes keeps you motivated and then you get to a point where others start noticing and you start to hear all the lovely comments of ‘Have you lost weight?’ or ‘You look amazing, have you been dieting?’
“It cements it that you’re doing the right thing. Focus on chipping away the pounds and staying on track- if you stick to the diet it will work. As for the holiday, it is on the wish list to go back to Florida, as I want to have a second chance at having an amazing experience that I didn’t feel like I had first time and there will definitely be no more mobility scooters hired the next time round!”