Sophie Worsley felt unhappy about her weight for years until one photograph gave her the motivation she needed to turn her life around.
The GP receptionist, from Royton, was spending time with her family when her mum snapped a picture of her in January 2021. When Sophie was shown the photograph, she was horrified by what she saw.
“I didn’t recognise myself anymore,” the 22-year-old said. “I thought, ‘I need to do something about it’, and that was the start of the journey.”
Sophie decided to join Beeweighed, a weight loss support group based in Greater Mancheste, and was placed on a calorie-counting plan. She also started Zumba classes which she took part in twice a week.
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The weight began dropping off and Sophie quickly found herself not being able to fit into her clothes. She has so far lost three-and-a-half stone – going from a size 18 to a size 12.
“I started noticing when I lost around two stone and I had to get a new wardrobe,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “People at work, home and the group told me I looked really well.
“I feel absolutely amazing. I kept a few of my baggy clothes and I try them on every so often just so I can see how far I’ve come.
“I never had the confidence to even start thinking about [losing weight], I used to sit here and every time I’d think about it I’d put myself down. I was umming and ahing and I wasn’t sure if I could do it but I took a chance.
“When my mum took that picture, I was honestly disgusted. I didn’t recognise who I was anymore. I realised I needed to do this for me and not anyone else and try and block out thinking other people are judging me.”
For Sophie, an average food day includes having a cereal bar and a cup of tea for breakfast, either a pasta pot or a salad for lunch and whatever she feels like for tea.
But there’s one trick she believes held the key to her incredible weight loss success – having smaller portion sizes.
“I used to have my tea on big plates and that was the thing, I needed to cut back,” she continued. “I would eat a packet of crisps and then have my tea and I always wanted more. I was never satisfied.
“I started having smaller portions on a normal plate, but then I thought I would use one of my little sister’s plates. It really helped cutting down on the portion sizes.”
Having gone from weighing just over 14 stone to 11 stone, Sophie won ‘Slimmer of the Year’ at Beeweighed in December 2021 and now holds her own meetings within the group as a leader.
“I’m really proud of how far I’ve come,” she added. “When I won Slimmer of the Year, I cried. I genuinely didn’t think I would do it; I was just dead happy.”
Beeweighed owner Lynda Leadbetter, who holds meetings in Denton, Haughton Green, Longsight, Stalybridge and Cheshire, said: “Losing weight has massively boosted her confidence so much, since losing her 50lb she’s decided to train and become a Beeweighed leader and run her own meeting to help others feel as fab as she does.
“She’s a true inspiration and it has been a pleasure to help her on her weight loss journey.”
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