A Monklands mum shed an astonishing four-and-a-half stone to help realise her dream of becoming a burlesque chair dancer.
Linda Murray, 54, lost 60lbs thanks to the Cambridge 1:1 diet plan.
And Linda told Lanarkshire Live how she embarked on her incredible weight loss journey.
She said: “I have got multiple sclerosis and back in lockdown I was not allowed to go to work because I was shielding.
“In May 2020 I was getting ready to go back to work, but I tried on clothes and fitted into nothing. My next thoughts were a diet plan, so I decided to get in touch with Linda McLaughlan, who is a diet consultant and long-time friend and I took it from there.
“I lost about four and a half stone, which took me about nine months because of my health condition.
"My goal weight was nine and a half to 10 stone, but I just kept losing a few more pounds and I am now a healthy eight stone and nine pounds."
The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan’s meal replacement programme uses formula food soups, shakes, bars and other foods to replace conventional foods while giving a lower dietary energy intake than on a conventional reducing diet.
The meal plan is nutritionally balanced and provides all the required protein, essential fat, vitamins and minerals.
Linda said she "absolutely loved the plan and found it so easy to stick to" and enthused: “Since losing the weight I can do a lot more activities that I couldn’t do before.”
And she is passionate about her new found love of burlesque and said: “I started a burlesque chair dancing class. I feel more confident and I can go and buy clothes because I felt self-conscious before.”
She explained: “My illness stops me going to the gym because of how it affects me, but when I found out my nail technician was a burlesque teacher, I decided to give it a go.
“I now do my dance class once a week. I absolutely love it and I’ve made lots of friends.
“The Cambridge 1:1 diet has made an amazing difference to my life.”
And since losing weight, the Chapelhall dieter decided to become a diet consultant herself in order to inspire others.
Linda explained: “I’m now a consultant myself and I decided to become one and do the same thing to encourage others.
“I would definitely recommend the diet to other people and it’s the only thing that’s worked for me.
“I’ve got a few clients now and they are amazing. I want other people to feel the way that I feel and help others the way that my sponsor helped me.”
And throughout her incredible journey Linda has been supported by her husband James and two sons James and Kyle, both 24, and 15-year-old daughter Rachel.
Cambridge diet consultant and friend Linda McLaughlan added: “I have known Linda since I was aged just seven.
“We are childhood friends and when I started my business she came to me to lose weight and she managed to lose an amazing four and a half stone.
“It was a big ask for her as she has MS and we are really proud of what she has achieved.”
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