A Slimming World member managed to lose a whopping 149 lbs, just over 10 stone, in just one year by making a simple change while still being able to eat the food she wanted.
Samantha Cobb decided to join Slimming World last year and after initially finding it "scary," she has been going every week since.
The 49-year-old has been so successful she was crowned her group's "greatest loser" in 2023, just a year after joining.
Samantha, from Chelmsford, was happy that she was able to lose the weight by eating her normal diet – but in moderation. She also shared her big secret – vegetables.
She said that by adding a lot of vegetables to her meals, she felt full quicker.
Speaking to EssexLive, Samantha said: "I think the secret is try to have as much vegetables as you can with your meals, because they're classed at Slimming World as speed food, as they help you lose the weight quicker. It fills you up a lot quicker."
Samantha also revealed why she decided to lose weight, explaining: "It was more health issues than anything, and I thought it was about time I kicked myself into order and get something sorted about it."
She added: "I've always heard Slimming World were really good, so I contacted Heidi, my consultant and she invited me along to one of the groups, and I've been every week now since the beginning of February last year. It was quite scary to start off with as I didn't know what the people were like, and what I would have to do, but they're the nicest group of people you could actually think of having with you for support.
"They actually enrolled my husband in July, so he's doing it with me. It's nice you don't have to stick to what you have to eat, you can have what you like; roast dinners, spaghetti bolognese, curries, everything. You can still have that on the plan from Slimming World.
"You can eat what you like within reason - not the crisps or chocolate and that, but with the plan I'm on you can have what you like meal-wise, but moderate it so you have loads of vegetables with it, you can have numerous amount of veg on plan, as much as you like."
She added: "Pasta you can eat as much as you like of, and then moderate it with portion sizes, which I didn't do before I started. I found it quite easy - I know some people find it difficult but instead of cutting things out moderately, I cut out all that I shouldn't have at once. I didn't miss it when I started the journey."
By following the plan, Samantha said she is now "five pounds off my 11 stone mark," which is "halfway though by journey", despite thinking she would only lose five stone in the first year.
She added: "But I'm staying with Slimming World when I get to my target weight".
Samantha explained that she it's common for people to stay in Slimming World once they reach their target weight so they can continue to get support and also bounce recipes off other people.
She added: "I'm feeling really good about it now, I've lost so much. I've had my ups and downs as does anyone, times where I've wanted to just throw it all in, but then Heidi will say 'look at what you've done, you don't want to throw that all away'."
Do you have a story to share? Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
