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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
Lifestyle
Brian Dillon & Karen Morgan

Tallaght woman inspiring thousands after incredible 12 stone weight loss

Dublin woman Jennifer Carroll set up her Instagram account Jen's Journey in 2018.

And since then, she has been sharing inspiring and motivational messages and has been candid about her excess skin removal surgery.

Jennifer lives in Tallaght with her mum, dad and six year old son Carter.

After moving back to Dublin from London, Jennifer decided to begin her weight loss journey which saw her shed an incredible 12 stone.

Explaining why losing weight was important, Jennifer revealed that she wanted to be healthier for her and her little boy.

She told Dublin Live: "I was extremely overweight and extremely unfit. I wasn't happy where I was in my life and I was unhealthy. I wanted to get fit for myself and for my boy."

Revealing why she decided to set up an Instagram page dedicated to her fitness journey, she said: "I decided to set up an Instagram page to help keep myself accountable, track my food and to hopefully share meal ideas that were simple enough for other people to follow.

"My page is very simple but I think the consistency and sharing something that's really helpful for people is the reason it grew. People are always looking for idea when it comes to weight loss and healthy recipes. It's something that's always quite relevant."

Jennifer detailed her fitness journey so far and revealed that in the first year, she lost ten stone, with the extra two stone following in the years after.

She explained: "When I began my journey in 2017, I lost 10 stone in 12 months.

"That was a huge drop.

"Slimming World really helped me. In the second year, I focused a lot more on calorie counting and training, and I lost a further two stone.

"I've kind of just maintained it the past couple of years. Obviously through Covid, I fluctuated a lot more. But I've managed to upkeep the healthy lifestyle that I wanted to.

"I've been doing the gym five days a week now. I thought I would be one of those people who didn't enjoy going to the gym but it's my little escape every morning after the school run before work starts."

Jennifer spoke candidly about her decision to undergo excess skin removal surgery, saying that she felt "abnormal" after such substantial weight loss.

She revealed: "When you have all this excess skin, it really affects your confidence.

"For me, it was something important because I had worked so hard.

"It's incredibly painful training with the excess skin. It's hands down the best money I've ever spent.

"I was happy to share my journey around excess skin because when I was looking into it, there was no one in Ireland who I knew of that I could could go to with questions.

"I hoped by me sharing that, that others would see that there are options out there. It's quite lonely."

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