Best Life Reclamation Story: How Stephanie Lost 6st 12lb* & Won £1000 with The New You Plan

In an inspiring interview with The New You Plan’s Emma, Stephanie shares her remarkable transformation journey. Starting in September, Stephanie has lost 6st 12lbs* and won the “Best Life Reclamation Story” award along with £1000 cash in the Jan/Feb Transformation Story Challenge. Now weighing exactly 12st with just 1st left to reach her goal weight, Stephanie’s story is one of determination, health improvement, and reclaiming her life.

Finding The New You Plan: A Path to Better Health

Emma: How did you feel when you found out recently that you were one of the winners?

Stephanie: I couldn’t believe it. To be quite honest, I thought Nicola was phoning me to say, ‘you’ve not done it this time, but please do try again next time.’ It took a while to actually sink in that I was a winner, and I was very chuffed.

Emma: What led you to starting the plan, and how were you feeling about it?

Stephanie: I’ve been miserable for quite some time, and I’m type two diabetic. I went to see my nurse who was very unhappy with my latest blood results. After an unsatisfying consultation with a health advisor, I decided to take action myself. I read Michael Mosley’s ‘Eight Weeks Blood Sugar Diet’ and a book by Professor Roy Taylor about reversing type two diabetes. Both mentioned using nutritional shakes for eight weeks.

Through a link to Newcastle University’s research, they recommended four different products, and The New You Plan was one of them. I had never heard of it before. Initially, I thought I was going to be doing shakes for maybe eight weeks, but after seeing posts from other people, I realised I’d be better using the other products as well.

After just a few days on the plan, I had a blood test before seeing my nurse. When I saw her nearly a fortnight later, my blood sugar levels had dropped dramatically. She couldn’t believe how far it had gone down. And it has kept dropping.

Life-Changing Transformations: More Than Just Weight Loss

Emma: How has losing weight changed your life so far?

Stephanie: When I was overweight, the bath was an issue. I love having a bath – it’s one of my favourite things, sitting in the bath with a book. But I would get in the bath and then really struggle to get out. I live on my own, so there’s nobody to help me. Sometimes I really panicked. Now I can get out of the bath easily.

Because I’ve been type two diabetic, I’ve had quite a lot of medication, and that’s one downside when you gain weight – you have to increase your tablets again. Now they’re going down, which is a real positive.

Even getting in the car and driving is better. I’m not very tall, so I have to be quite close to the pedals, but then the steering wheel would be on my stomach. Now there is a gap between me and the steering wheel, which is safer for driving.

At the gym, as I gained weight, I struggled to get on the bike for spinning class. I had to get the trainer to spend time giving me tips on how to get on. Now I can easily get on the bike.

Emma: What about your overall energy and home life?

Stephanie: I’ve suffered from cellulitis in the past and had four stays in hospital with it. The cellulitis wasn’t caused by my weight, but the severity of it was. The last time I was hospitalised, my house was in dire straits due to my lack of energy – I just couldn’t make myself do anything about it.

Now my house is getting cleaner. The garden has been in an absolute state because I had no energy for working in it. I’ve got more energy now and I’m more prepared to go out and do things than I was before.

Finding Favourites and Getting Creative

Emma: Tell us about your go-to meals and snacks.

Stephanie: I have a sweet tooth! I do like the Apple and White Chocolate Bar. But over time, I have a favourite, and then I have another favourite – it constantly changes. One of the big things for me was combining things, like having the Spaghetti Bolognese with one of the Pasta dishes – the Cheese or the Carbonara or Broccoli one – and putting it on top.

I love the Potato, Leek and Cheese pots. I’ve started adding Soups to them and cooking it in the air fryer, and that is so nice. Making ice cream from a Shake is really good. I like the Rice Pudding mixed with Muesli.

Because I’ve got a sweet tooth, the Salted Caramel Cake and the Chocolate Brownie are favourites. I found that putting Orange Flavouring in the Chocolate Brownie was just out of this world. If I do a shake and make it thick and put it in the microwave, it’s like putting custard on top of the cake.

I experimented this morning with a mini waffle maker I bought yesterday, and I had waffles for breakfast made out of the Pancake mix. I’ve seen that people have used the waffle maker with the Porridge too.

There’s just so much that you can do!

Looking Forward and Celebrating Non-Scale Victories

Emma: What are you most looking forward to when you reach your overall goal?

Stephanie: A lot of the things that I would have been looking forward to, I am achieving now. I know that I could live at the weight that I’m at now, but I’ve got clothes that are a size smaller, and I want to be able to get into those.

I’ve set myself a sponsored challenge – I’m doing Couch to 5K, which I did back in 2021. There’s a race in Blackpool at the end of April, and I’ve got to decide whether I can cope with the 5K, but hopefully by then I should be able to.

I’m having some personal training sessions to help with my posture and balance. I really want to get going on my garden too, though I’m not a gardener and I’ve got a lot of weeds!

Emma: What’s your favorite non-scale victory so far?

Stephanie: One of the things that I do all the time and I’m not conscious of doing it, is crossing my leg over the other leg. And then it just hits you – I wasn’t able to do that before, and I’m doing it all the time.

I’ve also got earrings in. I’d had my ears pierced years ago, but when I gained the weight, I just stopped doing anything like that. I’m taking a bit more pride in my appearance.

Words of Wisdom

Emma: If you could go back in time to when you began the plan, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Stephanie: Look at the positive. Take things as a small step. If you don’t achieve the weight loss that you wanted that week, look at how much you lost over the month – that’s perhaps a better guide.

Stay positive. If you look at the negatives, then that tends to bring you down. So find something positive. I love visual aids – the retired teacher in me still likes sticky stars. For every half pound that I lose, I have a sticky star. I just love watching that chart building up with lots of stars on it, and it will get to the end.

I know that to lose weight, your head’s got to be in the right place. I’ve desperately wanted to lose weight for many times. And then you think, when you want it so much, why can’t you do it? But then there’s just that trigger – whatever it was that clicked – and the plan was so easy to follow.

I’m just so grateful that the plan came at the time when I needed it most, along with the support.

Ready to Transform Your Life Like Stephanie? Join Our 2025 £52K Cash Transformation Story Challenge!

Inspired by Stephanie’s incredible journey? It’s time to write your own success story! The New You Plan is thrilled to announce our 2025 Transformation Story Challenge, with an astounding £52,000 in cash prizes up for grabs!

Cash Prizes To Help Your Thrive – £52,000 Up for Grabs!

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!

Customers can enter any or ALL of the following challenges:

• Mar & Apr: Ready for Spring (submit by Wednesday 30th April)
• May & June: Summer is Coming (submit by Monday 30th June)
• July & Aug: Summer Slim Down (submit by Sunday 31st Aug)
• Sept & Oct: Fall Focus (submit by Friday 31st Oct)
• The £10,000 Grand Finale (submit by Sunday 30th November)
• Nov & Dec: End 2025 strong (submit by Wednesday 31st Dec)

You don’t have to be at your goal to enter! Entering each time will keep you motivated and on track to achieving your goal. And, if you are already at your goal and maintaining your weight loss, you can enter too!

It’s free to enter, you can join at any time and you can submit every 2 months, if you wish. With 5 more submission dates this year, and 5 prizes each time, that means you have 25 chances to WIN a share of £52,000. And don’t forget about our £10,000 grand finale in November 2025, in which the overall winner of the year will walk away with £10k cash.