Mum puts four-stone weight loss transformation down to…

Mum puts four-stone weight loss transformation down to one simple thing

Having struggled with her weight most of her life, Lorraine Blackmore knew she had to make a change before starting her new job.

The 54-year-old had tried all sorts of diets over the years but struggled to shed the pounds, seeing her reach almost 18 stone.

Ahead of starting her new role as a secretary at a conservative club, she decided to “knuckle down” and lose the weight for good in March 2022.

Lorraine joined Tameside-based slimming group Beeweighed and the pounds began to drop off with a simple diet change. Lorraine went on to lose almost five stone in weight – going from 17-and-a-half stone to just over 13.

“I still have weight to lose but I don’t put myself under any pressure about it,” the mum-of-one said.

“I’m more confident and I’m a shopaholic now, I’m always buying new clothes. It’s nice to be able to open my wardrobe and know things will fit. It’s just being able to go somewhere and pick something off the peg and know it’ll fit.”

Lorraine, who lives in the Woodley area, says there’s one key to her weight loss success – not restricting herself on what she eats.

Though the mum eats healthily every day, she’ll treat herself to a “cheat day” once a week where she allows herself to eat whatever she wants. She’s also recently taken up swimming.

“I don’t ever say I’m on a diet anymore,” she added. “I just say I eat healthy. When I was younger, I would always say, ‘I need to do this diet, I can’t have this or that’.

“There’s nothing I say I can’t have. I’ll eat healthy for five days then on my day off I have what I want like bread and butter and get straight back into it. Even on a cheat day, I don’t go mad.”

Lorraine has had an amazing transformation (Lorraine Blackmore)

Lorraine’s incredible transformation means she’s gone from a dress size 20 to a size 14. Reflecting on life before her weight loss, she added: “I think I just got to a stage in my life where everything was hard work.

“And it’s only as you get older that you feel it more. I’ve always been overweight and had weight problems, but I got a new job and getting upstairs was getting more difficult and I think I got to a point where enough was enough.”

Whereas she used to snack on crisps, chocolate and biscuits throughout the day, Lorraine now sticks to three proper meals and rarely feels the urge to snack.

Lorraine feels fab after dropping almost five stone (Lorraine Blackmore)

“The key is telling yourself you’re not on a diet and not restricting yourself to anything,” she added. “If you want something, you can pull back on another thing later and make up for it.

“I eat more regularly and make sure I have three meals a day whereas before I’d have toast for breakfast and skip dinner and have tea. I eat proper meals now because I’m a picker, I don’t pick as much now.”