Weighing 20 stone Samantha Spendlow was desperately unhappy. Over the years she had tried endless diets and exercise plans but nothing seemed to work.
At her heaviest she wore a dress size 30. But as her 50th birthday approached she knew change was needed.
Samantha always skipped breakfast and would binge on chocolates, biscuits and ready meals to get through the day. In January 2022 she joined a local Slimming World club.
“I woke up on New Year’s Day last year and decided I didn’t want to hit 50 being fat. I was really sceptical about joining [Slimming World], I’m not a people person.
“I thought the group would be happy-clappy and that I would feel totally uncomfortable in that situation, but I was wrong,” she told the Manchester Evening News. Not only did Samantha lose weight.
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She also says her mental health improved and she was even promoted to head teacher at a primary school. She said: “After building my confidence in the group and recognising the changes I had made, I knew I was capable of achieving anything and went for it.
"I knew my weight was holding me back, stopping me from being the confident version of me I so desperately wanted to bring out. Feeling that others could make assumptions about me, my size and judging my ability on my weight this is something that made me judge myself and would on many occasions knock my confidence and self-esteem.”
Reflecting on her former diet, she said: “I wouldn’t have breakfast, I’d eat biscuits and chocolate during the day. I've completely cut all the chocolate and sweets out now, I just get sugar from fruit.
“Then for an evening meal, we would get a takeaway at weekends. It was a free-for-all. I’d get a Chinese, but it wouldn't just be a main meal, I’d get a starter and eat a main meal on my own whereas most people share them.
“I’d get a whole portion of fried rice, chicken curry and a portion of ribs. If I went to McDonald’s, it would be a burger, nugget and chips. When we ate anything, it would be fried. We used a lot of oils and the portion sizes were big.
“I’d eat lots of oven chips, burgers and really quick, convenient food. I never ate any vegetables.”
Commenting on Samantha’s success, her Slimming World consultant Ben, based in Eccles, said: “Samantha really is an inspiration to others in group each and every week.”
Samantha's diet before her weight loss:
Breakfast
- No breakfast
Lunch
- No lunch - just snacks including chocolate and biscuits
Snacks
- Chocolate and biscuits
Tea
- Easy oven ready meals like burgers, chips and sausages. At the weekend, Chinese takeaways including a starter, main meal, fried rice, chicken curry and a portion of ribs. Samantha would often get McDonald's including burger, nuggets and chips too
Samantha's diet now
Breakfast
- A hard boiled egg
Lunch
- A huge salad with chicken, lettuce, radish, celery and peppers
Snacks
- Fruit
Tea
- Slimming World meals including chili con carne and Shanghai chicken
