A Life Transformed: Sharon’s 6st* Weight Loss and £1000 Cash Win
In a remarkable journey of transformation, Sharon has not only lost an incredible 6 st* but also emerged as a runner-up in Fall Focus Transformation Challenge, securing a £1000 cash prize. Her story is one of perseverance, self-discovery, and triumph over a lifelong struggle with weight. From feeling trapped in her own body to rediscovering the joys of simple pleasures like zipping up knee-high boots, Sharon’s journey is an inspiration to anyone looking to make a positive change in their life.
Cat: How did you feel when you found out you were a runner up?
Sharon: Absolutely overwhelmed. Over the moon. It was just unreal. Nicola left me a voicemail the day before and I wondered why would New You be contacting me? I just thought maybe it was about an order I’d placed or something. I didn’t pick up her message until I’d finished work so I rang the following morning and when she told me I was ecstatic. I was over the moon!
Getting started…
Cat: How did you feel before starting the plan?
Sharon: Dieting has been an absolute nightmare all my life. My parents put me on a diet when I was 9 years old and I’ve been dieting ever since.
So I have literally been on a diet for 50 odd years, and I’m either gaining weight or losing weight. I have never ever managed to lose weight and keep it off. I’ve lost a few pounds, and then I’ve put it back on and more besides.
This journey actually started in July last year. We’d experienced a series of bad life events. I lost my job, my home and my dad passed away. We were homeless for a little while. We had my dad’s bereavement. And in July of last year, I reached a point where I knew I needed to do something about my weight.
It was getting out of hand. So I did a little bit of research, found out about The New You Plan on the Internet, and thought, right, I’ll give it a go. I ordered my 3 weeks bundle. And me being the diet pro that I am, I just thought, I can do this. I’ll just have this cup of tea, I’ll just have this. This has only got 99 calories in it – it won’t hurt. I can have that.
After three weeks, I’d lost six pounds. And honestly, I was devastated. I thought I’d given up all this food. I’ve made all these sacrifices. So, I literally, gave up on it. I just went back to eating and eating and eating and eating. That’s literally what I did. And I was eating myself into a grave. I know that’s what was happening. I was so depressed. I was so blinded by my whole circumstances. My mobility is a mega issue. I can barely walk at the best of times, and I got to the point where I couldn’t even leave the house and go to the car. I couldn’t even walk that far. I was literally on crutches, and I could not get past the front door.
We moved house in January, and moving house was the biggest and most tiring experience. It was absolutely awful. I couldn’t manage or contribute towards the house move, packing, unpacking, moving things – it was just really painful. And I just thought I really, really need to do something.
All the while, I’d kept in touch with The New You Plan. It had always been there in the back of my mind. When we were moving house, I still had some packs in the cupboard and I took them with me.
When I really took stock of where I was, it was the obvious choice to go back to The New You Plan because I knew that it could work for me if. Although I’d only lost 6lbs in 3 weeks, if I’d stuck with it and continued to lose 2lbs a week, I would have been quite a lot slimmer by now. So I decided to do it, but to do it properly this time and stick to the plan fully.
I ordered another month’s supply and started the plan properly. I thought I’d do it for a month and see how it went.
Cat: How did you find the first week?
Sharon: The first week was really, really hard. My body was in serious detox. And I thought to myself, I’ve got to get through this. And I persevered, but by the time I’d got to 4 weeks, my logic then became, “I can’t go back to the feeling like I did on week one again”. So if I don’t continue it’s almost like it’s all for nothing, isn’t it? So it was it that was my motivation, really.
After the first 4 weeks, I think it just became like a habit. And even now, my husband will say to me, when are you going to stop? And I’ll say, I don’t feel like I’m actually doing anything now. It’s just normal for me to eat this way. It just doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything apart from just living normally. It’s become part of my life.
Life changing results…
Cat: Tell us about your weight loss journey.
Sharon: I started on the 17th of February and my start weight was 20st 9lbs, which I think was my heaviest. The scales are my arch enemy. I will openly admit that. I possibly I have weighed that much before and been ignorant of the fact, but I was mortified when I got on the scales. To find that you weigh more than your husband and probably more than anybody else that that you know, was absolutely mortifying for me.
I’d also been advised by my doctors that it would be more beneficial for recovery for my upcoming hip surgery if I lost weight, so that was at the back of my mind as well.
I didn’t weigh myself again until October 18th. I didn’t want to step on the scales and be demotivated if I hadn’t lost anything so I didn’t weight myself weekly.
It was 8 months to the day since I started the plan and I thought I must have lost a significant amount of weight, because people were noticing. My friend walked past me in the street because she didn’t even recognise me! People had started to notice how much weight I’d lost, but I think when you’re living with it day to day, you don’t quite see it yourself.
When I did weigh myself, I had lost 6 stone exactly! It was unreal. I got on the scales, and then I looked at it and I thought, that’s 6 stone! So I stepped off, and I stepped back on again, and I stepped off and stepped back on again. I weighed 14st 9lbs!
I kept it to myself for a while. I didn’t say anything. And then I came downstairs and told my husband I’d weighed myself. I told him I’d lost 6 stone and he just nearly fell off the sofa!! He just said: “My god!”
I haven’t weighed myself again since. I do believe I am still losing weight because I can tell by how my clothes feel. After the first month, my goal was to stick to the plan for a full 12 months. So in February, I think I will use that as my point to then go on to maintaining.
Cat: What’s been your favourite non-scale victory so far?
Sharon: One of the big ones was sitting in the bath and not touching the sides. I can remember posting that in Secret Slimmers because that, for me was quite big!
Being able to zip up a pair of knee boots was another one! I’ve always had to wear ankle boots, which I love but being able to wear a pair that go up to my knee is something I haven’t been able to do my entire adult life.
I bought a skirt that I absolutely adore 5 years ago. I have travelled around the UK, and I’ve had to cut down my wardrobe so many times because of the nature of the work that I did. We’ve moved around the UK so much, but this skirt has always stayed with me. And that was a skirt that I kept trying on throughout my journey. It’s much too big now, and I’ve never worn it. It’s gone from being too small to being too big. I never actually tried it on at a point where it fitted me!
Cat: What are your favourite meals and snacks?
Sharon: I’m pretty much a person of habit. I find the things that I like the most, and I tend to stick to them, and that just suits me to do that. I open the cupboard door, put my hand in, pick something out, and prepare it. And what I found is I’m not constantly thinking about food all the time. It’s not important like it used to be. And that is a revelation for me to not be constantly thinking about food and where my next meal is coming from.
I think that’s why it’s worked for me, to be honest with you, because I’m not constantly having to think about, right, what do I need to cook? What do I need to buy? What’s the next meal? Where’s my next meal coming from?
But, generally, I’ll have a shake on the morning at around 11.30am or 12pm. And then I don’t eat anything again until probably 6pm and then I eat most of my food in the evenings. My favourite is sitting down to a packet of crisps. I love either the Bacon or Chicken at the moment and I’ll have those with the Mushroom Soup, which I absolutely love. And then I have either the Chocolate Brownie or Salted caramel cake. Later, if I’m hungry, I’ve have jelly, which I’ve made from the Water Flavourings. And I end the day with a Shake before bed.
Reflecting on the plan…
Cat: Why do you think your mindset around food has changed?
Sharon: I came to a point where I thought to myself, this is my journey. This is mine, and it doesn’t belong to anybody else. This journey is completely my own.
I have this constant conversation with my husband. He asks: “Are you allowed to eat? Are you allowed to eat?” And my answer to him every time is: “Yes. I’m allowed to eat whatever I want to eat, but I choose not to.”
And that was a big revelation for me, that it was my choice. There’s nothing stopping me, but I’m choosing not to eat it. It’s completely my mindset that says, I am choosing to stick to The New You Plan because it’s working for me and I’m happy with it, and I don’t actually need those other things. I could have a cake or a pizza but it’s momentary. Once you’ve eaten it, it’s gone, and you move on from it. And you don’t feel the benefits of it. It’s a craving. And if you stick with what you’re doing, you actually feel better about yourself than if you just give in to the craving. So it is a willpower and it is a strength.
And for some reason, I’ve managed to find it, and I’m happy that I have. If I want something sweet, I can go and get my Chocolate Brownie or my Salted Caramel Cake. I can go and have a nice Shake that fulfils the sweet. If I want the savoury, I’ve got the crisps that I can go to.
Cat: What would you say to anyone thinking of trying the plan?
Sharon: Do it the way that it suits you. Don’t feel pressured by other people. One of the problems I had when I first started it back in July, was looking at other people’s weight losses. When you see other people’s big losses, it can be very demotivating in a way.
So it was a case of having to come to terms with the idea that maybe I’m not going to lose weight at the same rate as other people, and I have to embark on this journey in my own way. I have to accept my body for what it is. It’s an old postmenopausal lady’s body that is not going to lose weight the way that I did when I was in my twenties. I used to lose weight in my 20s, and people used to say, “blimey” after just 4 weeks, because it was dropping off me. I’ve had to wait 5 months before anybody’s noticed this time. But your body does change as you get older, and I think accept the changes that your body’s going through and just take it one day at a time. Get through the first week and you’ve cracked it.
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.
One Final Chance To Enter Our £100K Giveaway!
WIN a Share of £7000 Cash in our Nov-Dec End 2024 Strong Challenge!
This year, we kicked off our BIGGEST EVER giveaway – the £100K Transformation Challenge – where every two months, we’ve awarded £7,000 in cash prizes! Each round, one overall winner bagged £3,000 cash, while four runners-up each won £1,000. That’s not all – our customers have also enjoyed dieting for FREE, with £52,000 worth of products up for grabs simply by sharing photos of their transformation journeys.
But we’re not done yet! 2024 isn’t over and there’s ONE FINAL CHANCE to win! We still have £7000 cash to give away in our November-December: End 2024 Strong Challenge. The Submission deadline is 31st December, so you really could be starting 2025 with a bang!
Simply email your I AM IN & IN PROGRESS / I DID IT poster to: [email protected] by 31st December. Remember, you can enter if you entered any of our previous challenges. You don’t have to be at your goal weight and you can enter if you’ve been maintaining your weight loss too.
