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Manchester Evening News

Dianne Bourne

'It's not lipo': Mum who lost six stone in a year keeps being asked the 'secret'

Weight Loss

As Carla Fishwick approached her 40th birthday she knew she wanted to shape up and lose weight but always felt "too lazy" to do anything about it.

She had tried "millions of diets" over the years but never found anything she could stick to with a busy life running her own hairdressing business and being a mum-of-one.

But as she scrolled through Instagram she was struck by the transformations on the page of an online coach and decided to give it a try for herself.

She signed up for an initial six weeks on the Francis Diet, which gave her access to a personalised calorie and nutrient-controlled diet. She was also given a tailored fitness plan with workouts devised by trainer Scott Francis that she could do at home.

Carla pictured before and after her 6 stone weight loss (Carla Fishwick)

She says that within three weeks of starting in February 2022 she had already dropped a stone. It made her realise exactly what she could achieve if she put her mind to it.

Sticking to the plan, and learning to make a complete "lifestyle change" she has gone on to drop an incredible six stone and 9lbs in a year. Carla, from Wilmslow, has slimmed from a size 16 to a petite size 6/8 and now regularly shares her OWN transformation pictures on her Instagram page.

Now 41, Carla hopes that by sharing her own journey she can inspire others, like her, who have felt they can't lose weight. She has shared photos in her bikinis at each step of the way to show how she gradually slimmed from 14stone 8lb at her heaviest, down to her weight now of 7stone 13lb.

Carla laughs: "My husband says 'why are you putting all those pictures on Instagram'. But I say to him it's because I want to really show other people that if I can do it, they can do it too.

Carla, 41, has shared her transformation photos on Instagram and TikTok in a bid to inspire others (Carla Fishwick)

"I was always so lazy, I was the sort of person I’d sleep in to the last alarm, I always wanted to lose weight but I just wasn’t prepared to do it.

"Now I get up every morning at 5am to do a workout, because I know that will set me up for the day. This has changed my whole life for the better and it's not just about weight loss, it's been the mental health side as well.

"I get messages from people asking for me for help, and I feel like if there's anything I can do to help people out, I want to try. People think there's a magic pill or secret, but there's nothing secret to it - it's all down to hard work and motivation.

"Once you get to where you want to be there's no going back."

Carla pictured in the gym - where she now enjoys working out (Carla Fishwick)

Carla, who runs her hairdressing business in Alderley Edge, says her transformation has been so impressive that some people have questioned whether she's actually had surgery to achieve it - and Carla has been swift to set the record straight.

She says: "I’ve had plenty of discussions with people online, some have had a go at me, saying I must have had weight loss surgery or lipo - but I’ve done this all the hard way. I've tried every diet going over the years and this is the only thing that has worked for me which is why I'm so passionate about it.

"I've still got a bit of loose skin around my belly but I think when you’ve had kids you always have that pouch. And I’ve still got my stretch marks, but my daughter says "mummy I gave you these stretch marks," so I’m happy to keep them."

Carla, who is 5' 5", has been so inspired by the Francis Diet, that she now also works as an ambassador for the programme sharing her story. She says: "I first spotted Scott's page a year before I signed up on Instagram. What drew me to it was all his transformations and that he took no nonsense off people.

Carla was inspired by other slimmers' transformation pics - but now she shares her own (Carla Fishwick)

"You don’t want to invest that money and then get kicked off the programme. I could see he was tough on everyone, and after a year I thought I’m ready to be told what to do.

"He gives you an eating plan and a workout plan, you check in every week with pictures, but it’s not just the weight loss it’s the mental health side, if you’ve got things going on in your life or you're an emotional eater it all works on that too."

Carla paid a set fee for her initial starter programme for six weeks - with prices tailored for individual packages and how long you book for. After signing up she received personalised meal and fitness plans, and she now continues to renew every six weeks.

Carla adds that the meal plans are all tailored to what you like to eat - and are all ingredients you can pick up from the supermarket, which you then prepare yourself at home. She says: "I spend about £40 a week now buying my food for the week that is in the plan, and I make sure I prep everything so I know exactly what I'm eating each day.

"My aim with this when I first started, it wasn’t to get to a certain weight, I just wanted to get to a size 12. But I just found it so easy that the weight dropped off and I was stunned when I got down to a size 8, and often size 6s are fitting as well now which I never thought was even possible.

Carla's friends and followers have been stunned by her incredible weight loss transformation (Carla Fishwick)

"The slimmest I'd ever been in my adult life before this plan was a size 10. When I started to notice the shape of my body changing, and the muscle definition I was achieving, it made me work even harder."

Carla now enjoys going to the gym in stylish fitness gear - but she admits at the start she felt ashamed even walking into her local gym when a trainer said she was using the equipment incorrectly - and so she chose to do her workouts at home instead.

She said: "When you first sign up you get a welcome pack and a choice of workout. Because I was so heavy when I started it was just a case of getting my steps in and I couldn't do a workout every day because I was so exhausted.

"For the first six months I did it all from home. I bought a treadmill from Facebook Marketplace for £80 and used small weights, but you can also do bodyweight exercises without the need for any equipment.

"In December I found the confidence to go back to the gym and now it’s become for me a non-negotiable to do my workouts, it’s part of my lifestyle as well, it’s something I want to do every day."

Carla with husband Anthony and their daugher Sienna, 8 (Carla Fishwick)

As part of the plan, Carla has ditched alcohol. She can now see how, before the diet, having a drink would lead on to binge eating takeaways at home with her husband Anthony.

She says: "I used to just grab a caramel latte for breakfast, have a reasonably healthy lunch at work, but when I got home I'd be snacking on crisps, picking at my daughter's leftovers, then I'd have a drink and me and my husband would order a takeaway but of course he can eat what he likes and doesn't put weight on. For me it was just mindless eating.

"I've been an emotional eater all my life, and I think I probably used all the excuses. Now I don't feel like I need a drink, although I can have the occasional drink, but I'm now more mindful of everything."

Carla started her journey in February 2022. She says: "I lost a stone in the first three weeks, it was amazing it was just dropping off. My body soon started changing shape.

Carla pictured at the start of her diet and fitness journey (Carla Fishwick)

"I was going on a girls trip to Mykonos in the June which I had always had in my mind, "I thought I’m not going away with the girls and not feeling confident". But I'd lost that much weight I had to buy all new clothes.

"When I went away on holiday in December, I had to buy all new clothes again because I'd lost so much more weight".

One of the exciting things for glamorous Carla about losing weight has been being able to walk into a shop and buy whatever outfit she wants knowing it will fit.

She says: "Whenever I want something now I can just pick something up in my size and try it on at home and know it will fit. It’s nice not having to worry all the time about having bigger clothes if I put weight on.

"When I used to go on holiday I would take "bigger" clothes for the end of the holiday knowing I'd just pile the weight on while I was there, but now I just continue on plan while on holiday because I finally feel in control. I even lost weight on the last holiday I went on."

Carla says losing weight has also had a big impact for her health. Before starting the Francis Diet she was peri-menopausal and had been recommended to take HRT and anti-depressants, but says she's now off both medications as she no longer feels she needs them.

In her sociable job as a hairdresser, Carla is now having to get used to lots of compliments from her clients who all want to know the secret to her slimline success. One of her friends is former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona, who has revealed on Instagram that she has started on the Francis Diet in her bid to shape up ahead of her wedding.

Carla says: "Everyone wants to know about what I've done. But a lot of people when I explain to them and say it's no alcohol until you get where you want to be, they say 'no I can’t do it'.

"At first it was hard for me too, but now I'm feeling fresh and if I have a drink it feels like I'm putting poison in my body and it would really hit me afterwards. So for me now, I don't miss it at all."

She says the lifestyle change has done wonders for every aspect of her life, saying: "I feel more organised in my whole life. Being ready for the school run, being ready for work, I'm all organised. Because I get up so early I just get everything done, I feel like doing your exercise at 5am gives you endorphins and the energy to get the rest of the day done."