A mum who tried for years to lose weight dumped her quick fix diets for Slimming World and lost six stones in a year. Hayley Short, 41, had tried a string of alternative weightloss schemes from strict calorie counting to one which involved nothing but milkshakes.
Despite fighting her weight since her teens nothing worked. One of the plans even left her with her hair falling out.
But the mother-of-five made a new start on January 1, 2021 when she joined her local Slimming World group. Getting on the scales for the first time she saw the scales hit 17st 2lbs.
Hayley, from Colchester, said: “I’ve always struggled with my weight from being young and was a size 16-18 when I started senior school. I’ve tried so many ways to lose weight and sometimes, although it worked, I soon piled the weight back on.
"One time I didn’t eat any food at all, just had milkshakes for weeks and another time, I lost weight but I also lost my hair as it started falling out. When I tried calorie counting, I found I’d focus more on my allowance than making sure I was eating healthy food.
“I’d heard about Slimming World and knew some people locally who’d had some great weight losses. I joined my local group with my friend before the first lockdown at the beginning of 2020.
"We’d get weighed then leave straight away. Even then, I still lost a stone so I knew it worked, but when we went into lockdown I didn’t want to join the temporary virtual groups and thought I could manage on my own.
“By the end of 2020 however, without the support of my weekly group, I just didn’t think about what I was eating at all – it was all processed foods and sugary drinks. I was just getting bigger and bigger.
"I was so fed up being overweight and not being able to play with my children or go swimming as I was conscious of people looking at me. I had aches and pains in my hips and didn’t do any exercise at all. I would get out of breath walking and even putting on my socks was a struggle.
“I messaged my friend to see if she would like to re-join Slimming World and I was so pleased when she agreed. I was anxious at first, but everyone was so friendly, I just felt welcome and comfortable straight away.
"I now realise how important support is when you’re trying to lose weight. Spending longer at the group to listen to the Consultant’s advice and the tips from the other members has made all the difference.
"We all talk and share ideas whether you’ve had a good week or not. You end up feeling so motivated, you don’t want to go back to old habits as you know you’re all in it together.
"If you have one day where things don’t go to plan, you know it doesn’t ruin everything. You hear other people’s successes and think, wow I can do that. I never go without anything – I still have the odd chocolate bar when I want it.”
Carolyn Pallister, Nutrition, Research and Health Policy Manager at Slimming World, said: “Hayley’s story is so inspiring and backs up our research involving 1.1m slimmers which found that regularly attending a group helps people to lose weight, with members who attend at least 75% of group sessions losing more weight, achieving on average over 7% weight loss (around 1st 1lb) in their first three months.
"Hayley’s success mirrors what we often hear our members say – that they feel part of a community. This is so motivating as members know they’re not on their own, but with a group of people who care about them and their weight loss with no judgement or humiliation, just kindness. That kind of community and support is so powerful!”
Hayley added: “So many people ask how I’ve lost weight, I can’t wait to tell them as I’m so proud of myself. I’ve gone from a size 20 to a size 10 and I’m a regular at the gym.
"I hated the gym at first and now I love it! At my heaviest, my family bought me a hairdresser’s tool belt and I couldn’t do it up I was so embarrassed. Now it’s almost too loose!
"I eat so much more veg now and love having fruit as my snacks instead of the sweets, biscuits and crisps I used to have. I’ve ditched all the fizzy pop I used to drink and replaced it with water and I love cooking from scratch, my favourite dinner to cook is Slimming World's cottage pie.
“As someone who left their Slimming World group thinking I could ‘go it alone’ after I lost weight, I know how challenging that can be. I realised I needed the support of my group to keep me on track and lift me up when I’d had a bad week.
"The complete lack of judgement in the room is one of the biggest things for me.”
Linda Duncan runs the Shrub End Slimming World group in Essex and is Hayley’s Slimming World Consultant. She says: “We were thrilled when Hayley joined our group, and she soon became such an inspiration to so many members.
"Hayley likes to say she’s a slow steady loser, with just less than 1lb weight loss a week and yet those pounds added up to over 5st in a year.
"So many members compare their progress to hers knowing that small steps can lead to big results – it makes them so excited for their future as a result.”
Offer: If you’ve been a member of any Slimming World group before, you can get FREE membership, saving £5! Hurry, this offer is only valid until the 19th November 2022. Simply show a previous membership card or pack (no matter how old it is!) at your local group to redeem. Find your nearest group at www.slimmingworld.co.uk
