When Hannah Schofield went on a trip to London little did she know it would change her life. As a university student she found she piled on the pounds until she was tipping the scales at 18st 5lbs.
Eating almost anything she could get her hands on, she loved sweets, chocolate and takeaways, admitting her lifestyle was anything but healthy. But it took a visit to the capital when she found she could no longer fit on a single Tube seat, that she realised something had to be done.
Now, after a radical overhaul, the 30-year-old from Lincoln has lost over nine stones and is enjoying life following her total body transformation. And to top it all she has become a champion bodybuilder competing for titles across the country.
Hannah told how she went on a mission to change her life after the experience in 2018. She initially weighed almost 117kg - today she competes as an amateur bodybuilder with a stage-weight of 59kg and was even named ‘Miss Toned Figure’ for the North-East of England earlier this year.
Admitting her previous way of living was "unhealthy", Hannah said: “There was never any real structure and certainly no accountability whatsoever. A lot of sweets, chocolate and takeaways scattered in there, which is obviously fine in moderation, but I'm not sure I knew what that word was.”
Then came the trip to London which made her realise she needed to turn her life around. She said: “I’ll never forget the way I felt that day.
"I genuinely struggled to carry around my own body weight. My knees were aching under the strain of walking all day and I couldn’t walk at a decent pace without breaking into a sweat and losing my breath.
"The worst was yet to come, as I noticed how much room I was taking up on the London Underground - I was actually taking up more than one seat and it made me so upset! This was probably the first time that I’d noticeably felt the true impact of being overweight and how it was affecting my health.
"I had always found clothes that flattered my body at every size, so my concerns weren't generally with what I looked like until this moment, but I was going to a party that night and had to buy size 20 trousers for the first time in my life - this was the final straw for me.
"I never thought I’d reach a size 20 and it was enough to make me want to change my life forever. This is when the change started!
"I took quite a radical approach to weight-loss at first, making significant diet changes to lose weight in a short period of time, which I wouldn’t recommend looking back. It was after a few months of drastic weight loss that I started working with my friend and coach, Jenna Beckworth, who helped me maintain my weight loss in a much safer and more sustainable way, and we still actually work together to this day!
"We've gone from strength to strength, improving my relationship with food and going through various stages of bulking and cutting, which in over four years has seen me lose almost half my body weight to be stage ready”.
In searching for a way to enjoy great tasting food whilst staying on track with her training regime, Hannah discovered products from The Skinny Food Co as staples in her new, low-calorie diet. She said: “The Skinny Food products have been a lifesaver at every stage of this process - whether it was in the early stages of my initial weight loss to not feeling so restricted, to even now whilst I'm preparing for the PCA British Finals!
"Their zero-calorie foods mean I can make exciting, tasty meals whilst I’m training for a show. When you’re training for a bodybuilding competition, you don’t really see food as anything other than a means to an end, but their low-calorie sauces really do help switch things up.
"I genuinely use Skinny Food Co products every single day. My all-time favourites are from Eddie Hall’s ‘BEAST’ Range - I have a bottle of the Chinese and Indian Curry Sugar-Free Fakeaway Sauces on me at all times for my chicken and rice meals. They're either in my bag or my desk drawer at work - they’re such a simple and delicious alternative to other high-calorie sauces.
"Other staples for me are the Skinny Smokey BBQ Sauce and Skinny Ketchup, as well as the Maple Syrup for Skinny Food Co’s range of Sweet Treats. I use the Vanilla Non-Dairy Creamer to make oats thicker and creamier - no need to use milk when you can use the creamer to get that indulgent consistency. Not forgetting the Skinny Coffee Syrups such as the Zero-Calorie Butterscotch Syrup or Zero-Calorie Salted Caramel Syrup - when I'm training for a show (or even in my off season), I choose to apply my calories to foods rather than drinks allowing me to stay fuller for longer, so the coffee syrups really help make a bitter black coffee taste much better.
"I think looking back, whenever I had tried to lose weight before, I had restricted myself too heavily and made it unenjoyable for myself. I certainly hadn't calorie counted properly and just guessed at what I was eating - there was very little accountability. Until you truly understand nutritional values and how many calories are in what, you can't confidently put yourself in a position to lose weight."
After seeing many people close to them struggle to find great tasting, healthy food on their journeys to better health, founders of The Skinny Food Co Wayne and James identified a gap in the market to create low-calorie, low-sugar products designed to help people like Hannah lead a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing taste.
Reflecting on her journey so far, Hannah says: ‘I hadn’t been truly happy with the way I looked as an adult for a long time - I was always the person who was up for a drink, or a meal and a night out, but I suppose these things were just a plaster used to cover up how I really felt’.
Hannah, who now works as a Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Officer, trains five times a week, following a bespoke training programme tailored to her needs, and says that for her, the key is simply ‘routine and discipline’. She goes on to explain how ‘exercise is now simply an essential part of my day - to me, it’s just like brushing your teeth’.
Now with a desire to help others, Hannah shares her tips for those wondering how they can kick-start their own weight-loss journeys. She says: “For those wishing to lose weight and achieve their goals, I would say the only limit to the height of your achievement is your willingness to work for it.
"It's a quote I absolutely stand by - no one is going to do it for you. If you want to achieve a goal you have to be selfish, minimise distraction and if it's not aligning with what you truly want - don't do it. It will all come together in the end.
"You have to work hard and apply discipline to everything you do. Once I started applying these principles to my own life, I watched both my self-respect and self-esteem fly through the roof - I finished top of my class at university, started getting promotions in work, and met the love of my life. The only limit to your achievement is your willingness to work for it!”.
Hannah has now I’ve finished her first competitive season and plans to work on coming back bigger and better in a couple of years time. Throw in starting an exciting new job, getting married, and growing what I hope to be a very successful coaching business, I’ve got lots to look forward to and I’ll be documenting it all on my instagram (@scho__figure) and vlogging on my YouTube channel (Hannah Schofield - YouTube)
The Skinny Food Co range features over 300 great tasting, healthier alternative products. From sauces and syrups, to high protein, low sugar snacks, cooking sprays, flavoured coffees, Fakeaway sauces, meals and more, visit www.theskinnyfoodco.com to find out more.
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