Real Success

Carrie Bond lost a fabulous 4st 9lbs to find new confidence, a new job and
feel fantastic on her wedding day! Now Carrie wakes up with a positive feeling every day – and her son Ben certainly sees the benefit! Carrie shares her story with us…

“I always knew I was bigger than my mates, but as I was taller I felt I could carry it off. I really started to gain weight after I fell pregnant – it wasn’t just baby weight. At three months I developed sciatica in my lower back and also injured my knee. With limited mobility I lived on microwave meals and takeaways.  

“My midwife warned me that with my health problems and weight gain I might have to have a Caesarean delivery. With lots of grit and determination I managed to increase my activity and fitness levels and gave birth naturally to a healthy baby boy, Ben. I felt absolutely brilliant after the birth; however I didn’t feel good about my weight. I used to comfort eat to compensate for feeling unattractive.

“I think my mum realised how unhappy I was with my weight and she casually asked me if I wanted to join Slimming World with her. I had pre-conceived ideas about what a group would be like so I wasn’t looking forward to going. As it turned out the group was held in a nice building in a good location, with loads of friendly people my age so it felt very welcoming.

I was really excited about getting started.
I tried loads of new foods – my favourite meal was Shepherd’s pie made with a sweet potato and carrot topping. My friends and family were shocked at how much I could eat and in that first week
I lost 3lbs."

“I decided to keep a photo diary of my slimming journey - I recorded my measurements, targets and feelings alongside the photographs. It was a great way to keep motivated as I could see the pounds and inches disappearing.

“When I first became a member I’d go red-faced whenever anybody talked to me, so it never crossed my mind that I’d one day become a Consultant. I have much more self-confidence now and I love helping members. Sometimes when new members come to group they can’t believe I’ve ever had a weight problem, so I show them my scrapbook!

“Nowadays I wake up every morning with a positive feeling and want to get up and do things, whereas before I had Ben, I used to lie in and then spend the day lounging round until the start of my shift in the pub where I worked. Ben and I joined a baby swimming group – which I’d never done before – and during the nine-week course I had to buy two new swimming costumes to keep up with my shrinking dress size. I do so much with Ben and just running after him keeps me fit!

“As for my wedding day, I was so excited about getting into my size 10 dress – it had been one of my biggest goals and I was thrilled to achieve it.”