A woman who decided to lose weight after landing a new job has lost nearly five stone thanks to making a simple change to her diet.
Lorraine Blackmore, 54, says she struggled with several diets over the years and had reached 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, joining Tameside-based slimming group Beeweighed.
Over the next few weeks and months the pounds fell away thanks to her making a subtle change - not restricting herself on what she eats.
As a result Lorraine went on to lose almost five stone in weight – going from 17-and-a-half stone to just over 13.
The mum of one told Manchester Evening News : “I think I just got to a stage in my life where everything was hard work.
“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."
“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.”
“I still have weight to lose but I don’t put myself under any pressure about it.”
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’s incredible transformation means she’s gone from a dress size 20 to a size 14.
She added: “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.
“The key is telling yourself you’re not on a diet and not restricting yourself to anything.
“If you want something, you can pull back on another thing later and make up for it.”
Lorraine's diet before her weight loss:
Breakfast
Toast or sugary cereal
Lunch
Skip lunch
Snacks
Chocolate, crisps and biscuits
Dinner
Calorific sandwich, shepherd's pie
Lorraine's diet now:
Breakfast
Porridge
Lunch
Ryvita with tomatoes and ham
Apples or 10kcal jellies
Dinner
Slimming World chips and chicken