A mother of two shed a staggering seven stone in just nine months – after being left “horrified” by a picture of herself on a birthday night out.
Kaye Lacy, 46, tipped the scales at more than 17st and was a dress size 22-24 when the life-changing picture was snapped during a meal to celebrate her birthday in June 2019.
But after being too mortified to even share the photo online because of how she looked, Kaye was determined to lose weight before her next birthday.
By the time that came around, she was able to celebrate her new slimline figure in a size 10 dress.
Kaye said: “I have been overweight since I was a teenager, I put weight on when I had children and I never really lost it.
“I gradually got heavier as I got older and put even more weight on when I was on crutches for six months following a foot injury.
“I tried dieting in the past, but my head was never in the right place and I only ever lasted a week.
“We had been out for lunch for my birthday and my husband took a photo of me. When he showed it to me, I was horrified.
“You don’t always see yourself when you look in the mirror every day. Seeing myself in the photo made me realise how overweight I had become. I was ashamed of myself.”
Kaye, from Leeds, West Yorks., would eat cheese sandwiches, bagels, crisps and chocolate at work before tucking into pizza and chips for her dinner when she got home.
She would also snack on crisps and peanuts in the evening.
Her weight made her health problems, including Asthma, high blood pressure and Osteoarthritis, worse and her confidence and self esteem had hit rock bottom.
But after joining Slimming World and learning how to swap fatty foods for healthier alternatives, Kaye dropped a whopping seven dress sizes without giving up her favourite meals.
She still enjoys a low fat pizza and Slimming World chips, but has cut bread out of her diet.
Kaye said: “I used to walk past a Slimming World advert every day and I thought I’d look into it, but I never did.
“One day, after struggling to breathe as I walked home from work, I decided there and then I was going to join Slimming World and I did, the same night.”
Kaye said she was determined to change her lifestyle for the better and managed to record a loss at every weekly weigh-in for six months.
The pounds dropped off and within nine months she was a trim 10st 6lb – 7 st 2.5lbs lighter than her starting weight.
She dropped seven dress sizes too and lost 17” from her waist, 12” from her hips, 12” from her chest, 7.5” from her thighs and 4” from her biceps.
Her Body Mass Index (BMI) went from 36, which is obese, to 21, which is in the healthy weight range.
Kaye added: “I set myself a target when I joined Slimming World to get to 11 stone, which would have been a six and a half stone loss, but it just kept dropping off after that.
“I didn’t give myself a time frame to lose the weight, I just wanted to be able to wear a nice dress on my birthday the following year.
“We were able to celebrate my lockdown birthday in our garden with my parents. It was a lovely warm summer’s day and I wore a nice dress for the first time in years. It felt fantastic.”
Kaye said she found it easy to follow Slimming World and enjoys the freedom of food optimising without the hassle of weighing or measuring most foods.
She said she was surprised at how much food she could eat while staying on plan so she was never hungry.
Instead of ready-made meals, bottled pasta sauces and takeaways, she now cooks delicious, healthy meals from scratch that all the family can enjoy.
She is reaping the rewards as she feels healthier than she has in years, continuing her home workouts, going for long walks and enjoying playing sports with her children.
She added: “I’ve kept my weight off for 10 months so far – longer than it took to lose it.
“I feel so much healthier, my confidence has grown and I have lots more energy these days.
“The pain in my left knee caused by my Osteoarthritis has eased, I no longer need my blood pressure medication and I can’t remember the last time I used my inhaler.
“I feel like a new person and I’m now a better role model for my children.”
Weight before – 17st 8.5lb
Weight now – 10st 6lbs
Dress size before – 22-24
Dress size now – 8-10
Meals before:
Breakfast: Bagel with butter and cheese.
Lunch: Cheese sandwich and crisps.
Dinner: Pasta with bottled sauce and garlic bread or pizza and chips.
Snacks: Chocolate, crisps, bread and butter & biscuits
Meals now:
Breakfast: Shreddies (40g)
Lunch: Homemade tomato soup
Dinner: Pizza-topped chicken with Slimming World chips.
Snacks: Fruit, boiled eggs, fat free yoghurt
