An Irish woman who achieved an incredible 18.5 stone weight loss after switching up her lifestyle has now vowed to help others do the same after becoming a Slimming World consultant.
Carol Mooney Murray said she struggled with her weight since the age of thirteen and was since diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, the 46-year-old from Cork recalled her weight spiralling out of control after she sadly suffered a number of miscarriages in her 20s.
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She said: "In my 20s, I tried to conceive, and I had six miscarriages across a couple of years. So by 2010, I had had six miscarriages, and between the hormones and the PCOS and between everything else I had actually got myself up to, I don't know exactly what my highest weight was, but it was between 36 and 38 stone."
After reaching this weight, Carol said she found it challenging to complete daily tasks and had tried a number of different diets.
She said: "I really, really struggled to do anything. Daily life things, literally walking around, was a difficulty for me, and I had gone through all sorts of different things. I'd tried diets where I had lost three or four stone at a time, and I even did Motivation. I did Weight Watchers. I did everything basically. I even went to one where I took a blood test that checked to see what you were supposed to not eat that wouldn't be good for your body and tried that, but all of them kind of failed really for me.
"I just couldn't really get my head around it, and some of it was my emotional state more than anything else. I wasn't in a great position at the time. I think the biggest thing for me was the loss of the babies. I went into a bit of a depression, and really for me, it was a case of, well the heavier I got, the less chance that my partner would be attracted to me, that I wouldn't be able to get pregnant. I wouldn't suffer the loss. I think that was sort of where my head went.
"So I had to go away and get a bit of counselling to give me a bit of support around that, and then by, I suppose, 2013, I had joined Slimming World."
She added: "I had lost about four stone, and then life took over again. I ended up taking a step back because some occasion or something happened.
"I joined and re-joined about two or three times before I got to the point where I was 38 years old. I had gone to visit my doctor, and my doctor more or less said to me look, if you don't actually start to lose weight, you're not going to see your 40th birthday. And I think that was kind of the hardest. That was, I suppose, a reality check for me.
"I was at a point where I couldn't move. I couldn't exercise… I used to walk to the end of my garden, and I would be out of breath and have to sit down… I needed help getting in and out of bed."
The news from her doctor finally pushed Carol to focus on improving her lifestyle.
She said: "I decided to do it at home myself and just focus a little bit on me, and I took time out from work.
"I lost seven stone at home over the space of about, it probably took me about six months and then I joined Slimming World because I kind of felt brave enough to actually go and attend a group.
"When I attended the group, my first weight in I was 28 stone 12 pounds, and I was mortified, but I think what really stood out to me at the time was that everyone was so nice. I kind of thought that I was going to be the heaviest person there.
"Now it did take me two weeks to actually join so much so that I had drove from my house, I was living in Middleton, and I drove to Dungarvan in Waterford to the group, and I sat outside the group for two weeks in a row just watching everybody go in and out the door. I couldn't build up the courage to go there.
"I told everyone, my friends and everyone, that I had gone and, 'oh that it was great, it was brilliant' until my friend called me out and said can I see your pack I'd love to do it with you and I was like em well the truth is I didn't actually join. So she actually got into the car with me and went down. Two of my friends came in with me, walked me in the door, and I just needed that bit of support, I think.
"Then when I went in, they were just lovely from start to finish. I felt as if nobody judged me or nobody kind of looked at me and went, 'oh my god, you're huge'.
Over the following year, Carol lost a sensational seven stone and was asked by her consultant if she would consider becoming a consultant herself to inspire others with her experience.
She said: "I think having somebody actually believe in me that I could do something and I could inspire others was huge.
"So then I became a consultant, and I went on to lose ten and a half stone, and that was probably about 2017 when I got to my first target, and I stayed at that target for two years."
However, like many others, Carol, who also runs a preschool, faced a slight setback when the pandemic hit.
She said: "I had just joined the gym. I was at target. I was feeling great. My loose skin was beginning to bug me, but I was kind of managing well. I was getting infections and stuff like that, but I was managing around that, and then the pandemic hit and both my businesses closed.
"So I had my slim world groups in Youghal, there was three groups, and all three of them closed. My business, my preschool business, closed as well, so life became very hard, and like everyone else, the first wave hit was grand. I was doing all sorts. I was doing zooms, and I was in and out of the gym and stuff like that kind of getting programmes with them and then the second one hit, and life got tougher, and bills got tougher.
"I'm a foster mum as well, so I was managing things at home as well with the kids. Three of the kids have special needs. I have four kids, and I put up two and a half stone."
After gaining some weight, Carol said she felt nervous about returning to her consultancy role but decided to continue to persevere and achieve her goals once more.
She said: "I had to go back to work then when the pandemic went, and I thought 'oh god, how am I even going to stand up in front of people and try and inspire them', so I decided to join a group rather than weighing in on my own group I joined a group and I decided I was going to go for my appointment to get my skin removed.
"So in the space of a couple of months, I had lost a stone, I made an appointment for my surgery, and in February of this year, I had my skin removal, tummy tuck in my stomach, and I got one and a half stone of skin removed.
"Then I got my 11 and a half stone award, and I am now nine weeks at that target, and I go to the gym every single week.
She added: "The gym has really helped me with the toning the discipline and just the focus on not just the food but obviously how we match the food with the exercise. So energy in and energy out and that kind of thing, but also it's great for my mindset because I think that was one of the biggest things I struggled with over the last number of years."
If you would like to follow along with Carol's weight loss journey, see her Instagram page @carol_mooney_murray_
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