A mum who lost almost seven stone in under a year has shared her top tips for weight loss.
Shelley Snow, 35, decided to make a change to her lifestyle after she topped the scales at almost 19 stone. Alongside a four-year battle to get her son diagnosed with ADHD, the domestic care home assistant decided to "do something for herself".
So on January 21, 2022, Shelley began her driving lessons and she signed up to Slimming World. After a previous struggle with food and her weight, the mum-of-two said she was determined to make a change.
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Weighing just over 12 stone, Shelley has shared her top advice, and how best to achieve weight loss, including not putting too much pressure on yourself. She told the ECHO: "Last time I put too much pressure on myself to plan and make meals for us all together which with children doesn’t always work especially if you have fussy eaters or children with additional needs.
"This time I have made myself the priority a little more because at the end of the day my success in Slimming World will benefit me and my entire family. So now I make meals for us all where I can but I adapt my meals to fit in with Slimming World and just don’t get myself in a flap anymore.
"I batch cook where I can and prepare meals for the next day to make the morning run smoother. I make sure I have my staple foods in the cupboard so even if I need to do a quick meal I have the right things in and ready."
Shelley, from Ellesmere Port, said her Slimming World group has been an "incredible support" both emotionally and helping with top tips. She added: "My family are the best support at home and my three sisters have now started their own weight loss journeys as well.
"My husband and children get so excited for me when I reach my next milestone which definitely gives me the boost I need to plan and have the best week the week following. I definitely feel like I have succeeded more this time due to the support I have had from all sides of my life.
"I have only recently set my personal target as I just didn’t feel ready to put a number on where I wanted to be and feel I aimed to just keep losing and work towards milestones 1/2st at a time.
"My top tip would definitely be don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t had the best week or you have had a meal off plan, guilting yourself is completely counter productive for the plan because you can end up overeating because you are mad at yourself and the guilt continues. Just do it for you; celebrate your victories and take the downs as they come it’s all fine and you just pick yourself up and start over again the next day. Be kind to yourself and remember you matter too."
For Shelley, Slimming World beats "fad diets" because she says to lose weight requires a "lifestyle change", which she works around her family and job and changes her schedule to suit what is happening that week.
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