Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Dianne Bourne & Nisha Mal

'People think I've had weight loss surgery or lipo' Mum lost six stone in one year in the run-up to 40th birthday

Carla Fishwick was nearing her 40th birthday and desperately wanted to lose some weight before reaching the milestone. Over the years she'd tried 'millions of diets' but found it hard to stick to them.

The busy mum owns a hairdressers, and found her hectic lifestyle meant she wasn't able to fully commit to the various diets she'd tried. But one day while scrolling through Instagram she found an online couch page that would change her life.

As Carla scrolled through the various before and after pictures she was impressed by the transformations and decided to give it a shot. She signed up for a six week programme on Francis Diet.

The plan gave her a personalised calorie and nutrient-controlled diet. She was also given a tailored at-home workout plan created by trainer Scott Francis.

She started the programme in February 2022 and within three weeks had lost one stone. The weight loss gave her the confidence to realise that she could achieve anything she put her kind to.

Subscribe here for the latest news where you live

Carla has lost six stone and 9lbs in total since starting Francis Diet, going from a size 16 to a size 6-8. Her impressive transformation is the result of some major lifestyle changes, and now she shares her journey and before and after pictures on Instagram.

Now aged 41, the mum hopes she can inspire and help others lose weight and change their lives for the better. 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.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Carla said: "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.

"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."

A before and after shot (Carla Fishwick)

Carla says her body has changed so much that people have questioned whether she has had surgery. 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 is now an ambassador for the Francis Diet, she said: "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.

"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."

When Carla started the programme back in 2022 she paid a set fee for her first six weeks, then after that she continued to renew it every six weeks. For the price, individuals get a personalised meal and fitness plan, with the meals tailored to your food preferences.

She says the weight loss has also helped her mental health, as well as the physical benefits (Carla Fishwick)

Carla adds: "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. 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."

She continued: "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."

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

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.

"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."

Carla's typical daily food before and after

DIET BEFORE

Breakfast

Big caramel latte from the coffee shop

Lunch

Healthy lunch at work

Dinner/evening

Snacks - crisps, daughter’s leftovers, picking at husband’s foods, drinks with husband then takeaway

DIET NOW

Breakfast

Scrambled egg with piece of bacon

Lunch

Chicken salad

Dinner

Chicken sausages with spinach and vegetables or home-made bolognese

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.