‘I’m as slim as I was on my wedding day’
Office manager Margaret Moss,
60, from Sutton, lives with her husband Peter, aged 63. She says, “I was very slim growing up, and when I married Peter aged 18, I wore a beautiful size 10 white silk dress, with lace and a high collar. But soon after we married, my weight began to fluctuate. At first, it was only by a few pounds, but it quickly increased.
“I ate healthily, didn’t have a sweet tooth and regularly exercised, but my waistline kept growing. It felt like I was battling my own body, so in my late twenties, I asked my GP for help. Blood tests showed I had a borderline underactive thyroid, which meant my metabolism was slower than normal, so I didn’t burn calories as quickly and gained weight very easily. But it wasn’t serious enough for medication, and I continued to battle with my weight, often trying different diets that never worked. I put on a bubbly persona, but I was miserable inside.
MORTIFIED
“Everything changed in July 2019, when my doctor finally agreed to prescribe thyroid medication. After getting used to taking the tablets, I vowed 2020 would be my year – and in early March, I joined LighterLife. It was a very low-calorie diet and recommended for anyone who had a lot of weight to lose. So while it was extreme, I knew it would give me the results I needed.
“I was shocked at the first weigh-in, when I tipped the scales at 17st 7lb – too heavy for my 5ft 7in frame – but now that I was on medication, I felt so determined.
“I knew that if I stuck to my meal replacement packs of
600 calories daily, and drank four litres of water a day, I’d achieve my goals. In the first week, I lost 10lb.
“Just 10 days after starting my diet, lockdown was announced, but I wasn’t worried. Staying at home meant I didn’t have to worry about turning down invitations for meals out. And I decided to ditch alcohol too.
ACHIEVEMENT
“My LighterLife classes moved online too, and I started twiceweekly online exercise classes.
“Peter was so supportive and by November 2020, I’d lost 6st 6lb and weighed 11st 1lb. I was so happy to have achieved my goal; I felt like a new woman. There would be some days when I’d look in the mirror and I wouldn’t recognise myself!
“I still have some
LighterLife products but mainly stick to a high-protein diet. I love a spinach and mushroom omelette for lunch and chicken stir-fry for dinner.
“At the end of last year,
I had to go up into the loft to get my old size 10 clothes! I couldn’t believe that I’d started lockdown a size 20, and now, I’m proud to say I’m the same size as I was on my wedding day. I can’t wait to get back out into the real world and show everyone my transformation.” By Alexandra Meyer