Gayle remembers one rule when it came to holiday photos; only from the shoulders up. The Walsall housewife lived a life not caring about what was on her plate, as long as she couldn’t see her almost 15 stone body in snaps.
One day however it became hard to ignore seeing herself and Gayle finally said ‘I am not happy with that’. After joining Slimming World in 2016, Gayle lost almost five stone in ten months, she looked so different her neighbour didn’t recognise her.
Gayle shares how she finally felt good about herself in holiday photos, the 54-year-old said: “In adulthood I was mostly overweight and had a back-disk problem which didn’t help, I couldn’t move around much.
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“The pain came and went but I had to live with it. I thought I have to do something about this, I wasn’t happy.
“We went on holiday once and after a night out you see the photos and think, I am not happy with that. The family knew the procedure, photos from shoulders up only!”
Gayle Harris
(Image: Gayle Harris)
After a friend told her she lost three stone at Slimming World, Gayle immediately searched for a local group. She was nervous on her first day in 2016, thinking she would be judged.
Thinking back to her weight gain, she said: “I just ate what I wanted and didn’t think about it. If we went out or had a pub meal, I didn’t choose wisely. I was not active at all. Looking at those photos I feel annoyed with myself for letting it get that far.
“Meals are cooked from scratch now and if there’s anything I fancy, I change the recipe slightly. I will remove the oil and use fry light for example. I make curries, chillies, homemade soup which I can batch cook and put in the freezer. Now I go into my wardrobe to get summer things out and feel good about myself.”
Gayle lost four stone and nine pounds in just forty weeks, slimming down to eleven stone. Her confidence boosted and one day, her neighbour mistook her for her daughter.
When asked what advice she has for others struggling to lose weight, she said: “Join a group as you will get all the support, ideas and recipes. It is about being mindful about what you are eating, all the changes help.”