After years of suffering from an auto-immune disease, pain and inflammation were a daily reminder to Elizabeth Hauxwell that all was not well.
Following numerous visits to doctors, rheumatologists and homoeopaths, the Co Antrim woman had a choice between chemotherapy and a cocktail of drugs or to reduce stress levels, eat better, lose weight and take supplements.
Having lost her brother to the same disease the same year, Elizabeth, 46 and from Ahoghill, looked into everything.
Read more: Belfast woman sheds five stone in one year after 'hating her body'
“I made some radical changes to my diet, excluding sugar, gluten, red meat, dairy and all processed foods, I even started taking supplements,” Elizabeth explained.
“Initially I felt worse, but after a few months I started feeling better. At this point, I expected the weight to fall off of me, but I didn’t lose much.”
Further testing found an underactive thyroid and early menopause, just a few of the complications to add to her list of ailments.
Excluding so many things from her diet meant that Elizabeth didn’t eat much, was almost always hungry and eventually had to go back to including those foods again.
Along with that came feelings of low self-esteem, guilt, and depression. Elizabeth felt that if she couldn’t even stick to a diet, how was she ever going to have a future with her young children?
After noticing a friend losing weight, Elizabeth asked her how she was doing it. Slimming World was mentioned and she made it a point to go and see what it was all about. At this point, Elizabeth thought it could do no harm.
She recalled: “Walking through the door was the hardest part. I felt ashamed and embarrassed that I needed to go to what I thought was a slimming club. What I found was a room full of support, understanding and knowledge.
“Everyone there was friendly, welcoming and on the same journey as me. The consultant, who started as a member, just like me, was welcoming and explained how food optimising worked, what I could eat, and how to swap some high syn foods for more nutritious ones.
“She told me I could eat as much free food as I wanted and to include measured amounts of dairy and fibre, and I could have a treat when I really needed one! Suddenly I realised where I was going wrong!” Elizabeth added.
Now four and a half stone lighter and eating everything from steak and chips to an Indian curry, Elizabeth explains how you can food optimize any meal.
“I used to say that no diet ever worked, because I just liked food too much! With Slimming World, I can eat delicious meals, tasty snacks and as often as I want!”
Elizabeth decided to become a Slimming World Consultant and now runs the Randalstown group that meets every Tuesday from 5:30-7pm in The Arches.
“Educating people about food optimising, supporting them on their journey and encouraging people to achieve their dreams is what 2022/2023 holds for me,” she said.
“In a world where convenience is almost essential and meals are often rushed, eating healthy, nutritious food is a challenge on its own. Slimming world educates you on how to eat healthy, plan meals and never go hungry.
“People want to lose weight for any number of reasons, and what better way to go about it than to have a group supporting you, be able to eat as much food as you want and still lose weight? Overall leading to a healthier, leaner and more confident you!”
For more information about Elizabeth’s group, you can contact her on 074 81777 803, join her at her weekly group in Randalstown, or head over to the Slimming World website for more group information.
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