Real Success

With a life-changing weight loss of 3st 1lb, Paige Ataou now has the self-confidence to tackle anything! Joining Slimming World as a young member, Paige has some fab advice for other teenagers out there – read her inspiring story here.

“Until about the age of 10, when Mum and I moved from Barry to Cardiff, I was an average size. But the strain of moving away from my friends and starting afresh in a new school turned me into a comfort eater. I spent all my pocket money on chocolate - not surprisingly I gained a lot of weight – probably about 2 stones in a year.

“It was when I was around 12 that I first started feeling negative about my body. I noticed the school ‘it’ girls all shopped at a fashionable boutique. Their dinky little jeans wouldn’t go anywhere near my size 14 waist. Often the slim girls would snigger at me or make rude remarks about the size of my bottom in my less trendy jeans. I pretended I wasn’t bothered what anyone thought, but of course I was terribly upset – and that made me want chocolate even more.

“By the time I was 14 I was really unhappy with my weight and wore bulky, cover-up clothes. I desperately wanted a boyfriend but felt way too unattractive compared to the ‘it’ girls.  I knew I had to lose weight – but how?

“I’d tried crash diets in the past - I’d lose weight but then gain it all back again. Although Mum was a member of Slimming World it didn’t sound quick enough for me. I even confessed to my Nan that I was considering a gastric bypass. ‘But Paige, if you went to Slimming World with your mum, you could be slim by Christmas!’ she insisted.

“I had to admit, the meals Mum made – things like chicken fajitas or spinach curry – were delicious. Not only that, I already knew how friendly Wendy and her members were, because I’d dropped in occasionally to meet Mum. So the very next week, in January 2006, I found myself joining Slimming World – and as I was the group’s youngest member, they made a huge fuss of me!

I lost 5lbs in my first week and by the first month I’d got my 1 stone award! I celebrated my 2 stone award by fitting perfectly into a dress I’d almost burst out of a month before."

“I felt that weight loss alone wouldn’t tone me up, so I joined a gym and began weights workouts four times a week. So even when, after my first year at Slimming World, my weight losses slowed to 1lb or less a week, I wasn’t discouraged, because I could see my arms and legs becoming more toned, and I started wearing dresses and cut-off jeans to show
them off.

“Everyone at Wendy’s group was really proud of me and I found myself coming out of my shell more and more, especially when teenagers came to group. I loved showing them my ‘before’ pictures – their faces really lit up. My self-confidence made me seem more attractive to the opposite sex, too, and I started having boyfriends for the first time.

“I reached my target in July 2007 and had the best revenge on those ‘it’ girls. It was prom night and I got dressed up in an outfit which showed off my newly toned size 10 body. Feeling like a million dollars, my best friend and I then made a show-stopping entrance – carried aloft by hunky firemen from the fire station where Mum works as a cook! The ‘it’ girls’ faces were a picture…

“So many overweight teenagers have low self-esteem, and I used to be one of them. If I hadn’t lost weight, I don’t think I’d have met my boyfriend or be contemplating university. So if you’re reading this, don’t let being overweight drag you down. Join your local group and change your life, just like me.”