A brave new world
Food for many of us is often the first thing we turn to as a source of comfort when times are hard. One young woman who knows this only too well, having suffered two personal tragedies in quick succession, and gaining weight as a result, talks to Shropshire Woman editor Jackie Jarvis about how she has turned her life around, going on to provide inspiration to others in their fight to get back on the straight and narrow.
Amanda is now nearly half the woman she was
Amanda Vincent is now in a very happy, healthy place. She is a new woman in every sense of the word.
Not only does she love the way she looks and feels about herself but, most importantly, she has well and truly banished unhealthy eating demons from her life.
But, for the Telford mother-of-three, the road to a new-found confidence, feeling of self-worth and self-belief has, at times, been a long and rocky one.
The 35 year-old, who lives in Madeley with her partner of the past 20 years, Jason, and their children, 13 year-old Amy, Paige, 11, and Charlie who is nearly two, admits to having had a weight problem from an early age.
“As a child my puppy fat never went,” she said. “By the time I was 14 I was a size 16.”
“I remember hating playing sports at school. Shopping for clothes was a nightmare because everything my friends had I couldn’t find in my size.
“There were stages when I starved myself and went on fad diets which achieved nothing because when I started eating normally again the weight just piled on,” she added.
The birth of her children served to exacerbate the problem and, at her heaviest, Amanda weighed in at 17 stones and was wearing size 22 clothes.
“At this stage I was feeling so lethargic. My self esteem was at an all-time low and I got to the point where I just didn’t want to go out,” she said.
Amanda first joined Slimming World seven years ago but it was in the last 18 months that, through sheer dogged determination, she achieved her greatest ever weight loss, shedding an astounding six stones to reach her optimum target of 11-and-a-half stones.
“The final wake-up call for me was learning that I had high blood pressure. I was determined I was going to be around to see my children grow up so decided I had to do something about it,” she explained.
Proud to show off her new size 12 figure, the trained nursery nurse has now found the confidence to return to work after years spent dreading speaking to people for fear of being judged on her size.
“I was determined I was going to be around to see my children grow up so decided I had to do something about it.”
She attributes much of her most recent weight gains to two tragic events in her life; the loss of both her parents within the space of just over two years.
“I was caring for my dad so found it increasingly difficult to attend slimming group,” she said.
Soon after Amanda’s father passed away she discovered she was pregnant with Charlie.
She recalls: “I really wish I had continued attending Slimming World throughout my pregnancy as old eating habits began to creep in.”
But soon after the birth of her son she received the devastating news that her mother was suffering from a very rare form of liver cancer for which there was no cure. She sadly passed away in June of last year.
“People cope in different ways but for me food became my comfort, she said.
So inspired by the support she received from her own group she has now joined the team at Much Wenlock, which meets at the youth club on Station Road every Thursday at 6.30pm.
For Amanda the ‘optimising’, which allows unlimited free foods with nothing forbidden, has been a real key to her successful slimming.
“At last, I thought, a plan that works, as opposed to the many diets over the years which I had found so restricting. And I can even factor in my favourite chocolate bar each day.”
For more details about the Much Wenlock classes call Amanda on 01952 406281.
