Reality TV star Amy Tapper has revealed how she’s lost three stone in six months by increasing her daily food portions. The former Gogglebox star has shared how the Goal Getters meal plan by MuscleFood has allowed her to drop four jean sizes all while increasing her daily meal intake.
Amy opened up about how she recognised from a young age she had a bigger build in comparison to the rest of her peers, and despite never being bullied, she was always aware of her size. After being part of the original Gogglebox cast at just 13 years old, Amy admitted she would often type her name into Twitter as new episodes of the Channel 4 show aired, only to see internet trolls making negative comments about her appearance and weight.
Amy, now 22, said: “My dad and I would both get nasty comments about our weight and I’d also get people criticising my voice for being too loud. It was quite upsetting. There were people on Twitter calling us ‘the fat family from Gogglebox’ but my mum and my brother have never had any problems with their weight.”
Amy had tried many diets before realising she needed to make a lifestyle change and adopted the Goal Getters meal plan. Since then she has lost three stone and 18cm from her waist, 11cm from her chest and 9cm from her hips.
She said: “Everyone seems to be interested in my weight loss and ask questions about it. Most of the time they mean well but there can be nasty comments as well. Luckily I have some amazing supportive people around me so I have been able to deal with it.
“More recently it has come full circle with people on my social media sharing in my weightloss journey and sharing their goals and progress too. It’s an amazing feeling when they thank me for being their inspiration. Everyone out there has their own insecurities of one kind or another. For many people it’s about their weight and I am very fortunate to be able to help many of them gain the tools they need to take positive steps forward.”
She added that she encouraged her followers to avoid fad diets and instead adopt a healthy lifestyle. “A lot of these other diets I tried just weren’t healthy, they were a quick fix. I’d drop a stone or two and that was it, it was so difficult to make any progress beyond that. What I needed was a positive lifestyle change.
“I used to find healthy eating hard due to having a social life and constantly being out with my friends and I then realised that mindset was what was holding me back.
“I used to think to myself ‘when is the right time?’ then I realised that I had to make it the right time.”
Each week, Amy receives one week's worth of meals delivered straight to her front door as part of the Goal Getters meal plan. This includes three meals a day, all pre-portioned and calorie controlled as well as low-calorie snacks to enjoy in between.
Among the menu are meals like Blueberry Protein Pancakes and the Mushroom Pesto Pasta Recipe Kit as well as snacks such as Salted Caramel Protein Bars and Hummus & Tomato Grab Bag crisps.
As well as sticking to her meal plan, Amy has also developed what she describes as a ‘healthy obsession’ with working out. Exercising three times a week with her personal trainer has meant that Amy has now built this regime into her lifestyle.
Amy said: “I was definitely guilty of not eating properly during the day and when I started Goal Getters I struggled to wrap my head around the fact that in order to lose weight I needed to eat three meals as well as three snacks throughout the day, but it’s definitely worked and it’s all to do with speeding up your metabolism.
“When people think of losing weight their immediate thought is that they need to eat less and that’s just not the case.
“My trainer Natasha once said to me ‘you wouldn’t make it to me with no fuel in your car would you, so what makes you think you can workout effectively on an empty stomach’ and it’s so true!”
Unlike a lot of diets, Amy says she can still indulge in her guilty pleasures - crisps and popcorn. “I don’t feel restricted at all which is the best part, the low calorie snacks are great! I usually take them out with me if I’m meeting my friends for a coffee or something - it’s just part of my lifestyle now.”
Amy shares her successes on social media and says she has lots of other people following her who are on the same journey.
She added: “I often get messages from women and men who are losing weight and following my journey on social media. They share with me when they reach weight loss goals and come to me for support when they’re struggling.
“That’s an incredible feeling - I know that I have people doing this with me and if I’m helping more than just myself through this lifestyle change, then I can’t ask for anything more.”
Here are Amy’s top tips for people looking to adopt a healthy lifestyle change:
- Try to surround yourself with positive people who will help and support you
- If you can, try to invest in a trainer. Not only is it great for guidance but having someone else who is invested in your journey just as much as you are can be so motivating,
- Eat little and often, even if you don’t feel hungry. Pre-planned meals take the stress out of what to eat and when.
- Take every day as it comes - it’s easy to put a lot of pressure on ourselves, just focus on the small daily goals and before you know it, you’ll have made more progress than you ever thought was possible.
