£100K TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE: Susan Lost 5 Stone* & Won £1000 Cash
After suffering from long COVID, Susan’s weight spiralled, which saw her gaining 6 stone. Her health was suffering, she had lost all confidence, she avoided going out and she was feeling depressed. After her 70th birthday, she was desperate to improve her health so that she could enjoy her retirement as she had planned.
Here, she shares how she lost 5 stone and won £1000 cash in our Transformation Challenge.
New You: Susan, why did you decide to join the challenge?
Susan: My husband persuaded me to join the challenge. I was a little unsure because it’s not in our natures to put ourselves forward for praise. I’m particularly bad at accepting compliments and congratulations and praise from people. It’s something that I’ve had to work on and now I feel more confident I can accept those compliments. I’m so positive now that I make a conscious effort every day to compliment someone else, whether it might be the way they smell, the way they look, whatever they’re wearing. I will pay one person a compliment every day and hope that makes them feel good about themselves.
New You: How did you feel when you found out you were chosen as a winner?
Susan: Totally gobsmacked to start off with and couldn’t really take it in. It took a while to sink in, but I’m so amazed. I’m not one of those type of people that is comfortable posting or taking videos all the time, but I religiously read people’s posts every day. The beauty of Secret Slimmers is that that’s accessible 24/7, whereas if you do other plans where you’re in a group, you only get that opportunity maybe once a week for an hour to get that support and the boost. It might be 2am when you’re feeling particularly low. And if you pop on the group, you’ve got everyone’s positive affirmations to read and you can help yourself get through that period, any time of the day. So that’s the most amazing part of being part of this group. The support is there when you need it.
New You: We’d love to know how you heard about the plan!
Susan: It was through a friend who I hadn’t seen since before COVID hit. She put a post on Facebook, and she’d lost a vast amount of weight and looked amazing. She’d done it basically to have knee surgery on the recommendation of her doctor. So she recommended the plan to me towards the middle of May last year. She’s reached her goal, had her surgery and is still using the products.
Getting started…
New You: What led to you starting the plan?
Susan: I was in a really dark place. My weight had snowballed after contracting COVID. My husband was trying to feed me up to make me feel better, but it just made me feel worse. I felt isolated, as we all did, post-COVID. I felt lonely, had zero confidence, was always refusing requests to go out and meet friends. So that contributed to the feelings of isolation and not being good enough or worthy enough to be around other people. Because if I did go out, I just felt so bad about myself. I wasn’t good company so I began to feel more and more isolated and more depressed.
New You: And tell us about that first week…
Susan: I found it relatively easy. I’ve tried other plans in the past, but I found The New You Plan so simple, easy to follow, and the products were tasty, easy to prepare, and very quick. This is what I needed at the time, because I was suffering long COVID. When my day got past lunchtime, my energy levels just plummeted to nothing. So I was eating things that were quick and easy to prepare, which most of the time, was junk food or takeaways. My husband, bless him, he’s not a cook. So that was my diet – takeaways, fast food, anything that was quick to prepare. So none of it was exactly healthy. And so the weight spiralled and the depression continued. I’ve gone from when I was at my lowest (10 stone) just after COVID and not eating for eight weeks. But my weight spiralled up to 16st 4lbs in the matter of a couple of years.
New You: What are your go-to meals & snacks?
Susan: 5 days a week I exercise and go to the gym. I’ll start the day with a Pineapple Boost. I don’t usually eat breakfast before I exercise so I save that until I come back from the gym. I just love three of the breakfast products – the Porridge, Muesli and Pancakes. So, I tend to alternate with those three and I will probably continue with them once I get to maintain my weight because I love the breakfast products so much.
And then I’m a savoury type of person, so I would perhaps have a double savoury meal. I love the Spaghetti Bolognese and Chilli, and I usually do them with an Egg Omelette wrap.
The Shakes are great to make ice-cream and I’ll add coffee to the Cafe Latte, Caramel and the Hazelnut Shakes. I like to have those hot in the evening.
Life changing…
New You: How would you say the plan has changed your life?
Susan: The main reason I went on plan was to improve my health. People are concerned with how they look, but for me, the essential reason for losing weight was to get my health back and to enjoy my retirement as much as possible. And the bonus is being able to buy clothes directly from shops without huffing and puffing and feeling dreadful in the changing room and then coming out almost in tears because nothing fits.
With any form of travel, I get swollen ankles and feet. My GP had recommended drinking four litters of water a day to flush out my kidneys. And my greatest achievement on this plan has been when I went for my annual check up at the end of April and all my results are perfectly normal. So I have reversed my kidney, liver and heart problems. The fluid around my heart has reduced. My breathing is a million percent better. I’ve not had another chest x-ray, but when they were listening to my chest, there were no problems at all. So everything seems to have returned to normal. A year ago when I just celebrated my 70th birthday, I thought that COVID was going to kill me off. I genuinely felt so ill. But now I’m back at the gym. I’m going to celebrate my 71st birthday next!
I have gone from being totally depressed, feeling unwell, not going out anywhere and being isolated, to now enjoying my retirement, going to the gym every day, enjoying the sun, enjoying being outside and just living life how I expected it to be when I retired. I’m enjoying family occasions now. Before, I would turn down invitations. I now have had a couple of weddings and I’m going away next week to celebrate my birthday.
New You: What is the nicest compliment you have received since losing weight?
Susan: Once I started accepting compliments as they were intended to make me feel, every single one has been special. But the particular standout ones, are when I’ve had two family weddings with people that hadn’t seen me for quite a while and the compliments I got at those were special. And the one recently I’ve had from the GP’s surgery, saying how well I’d done, losing the weight and reversing all the damage that had been done to my organs, since suffering from long COVID.
But every single compliment feels special. I’ve even had a few this morning going to the gym here in Spain and it’s only been six weeks since I left and they’ve noticed a difference in the six weeks, so it’s about how you feel and how you carry yourself. Before I felt that I had an old woman stoop. Whereas now I’m standing taller. You hold your head higher, you look people in the eyes. You’re not apologising for your existence. You’re not sort of crumpling in on yourself and trying to hide anymore. So every compliment, every single one feels special.
New You: What would you say to someone thinking of starting the plan?
Susan: Definitely. Don’t hesitate. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. You’re going to get healthier, you’re going to feel fitter, and you’re going to feel happier and more confident. So I would have no reservations at all recommending the plan to anyone.
Whether you want to lose half a stone or 10 stone*, have a slimmer figure, or are just looking to get maximum nutrition in minimum time, then New You can make the perfect partner to get you to where you want to be.
Join Our £100,000 Giveaway… Make 2024 Your Year of MORE
Our Transformation Challenge is BACK for 2024 & it’s bigger & better than ever!!
Are you ready to make 2024 your healthiest, happiest year yet? This year we launched our biggest ever giveaway, and we’re inviting you to be a part of it. Join us on a journey of self-improvement, community, and incredible rewards.
The Lowdown…
- Enjoy 4 yummy meals a day: Kickstart your health journey with tasty meals that make a real difference.
- Share your story: Got a great update? Post it on social media and in our community. You could win awesome freebies just for sharing your progress!
- Snap & win: Every 2 months, send in your progress photos. You could win a share of £7000. Let’s celebrate your journey together!
- Go for the big prize: Create an amazing transformation and you could grab our top prize of £10,000 in November 2024. It’s all about the wow factor!
Exciting Prizes to be Won
This year, we’re giving away 52K in cash. £7,000 cash will be won every 2 months for our absolute favourite glow-ups! One overall winner will WIN £3000 cash and 4 more customers will each WIN £1000. And the grand finale? An epic £10,000 cash prize for one overall winner! Plus, if you’re a runner-up sharing your story, you’re in for a treat with thousands of pounds worth of awesome products!
Our next Transformation Challenge deadline is 30th June so it’s time to submit your I AM IN photos.