A mother-of-two who feared her children would be bullied for her weight is showing off her incredible transformation after losing seventh place.
Mary Watkins, 42, from East Sussex, who weighed 17 at her heaviest, struggled with her size for years and was diagnosed with high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia while pregnant with her eldest son Freddie.
After failed attempts to lose weight, he joined Slimming World and lost seventh place. He has now maintained that weight loss for seven years and opened his own global slimming group helping other slimmers.
The mum, who was named World Slimming Top Target Consultant 2024, said: ‘Freddie was born seven weeks early because he had stopped growing due to weak blood flow to my placenta.
‘I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and my weight and high blood pressure played a part in it. It pains me to think that Freddie wouldn’t have been born prematurely if I had been a healthy weight.’
Mary Watkins, 42, from East Sussex, feared her children would be bullied for her weight so she dropped seven stone.
At over 17, Mary was advised to lose weight to control her blood pressure, especially if she became pregnant again.
She said: “I knew a lot of people doing intermittent fasting at the time, so I gave it a try.” I lost some weight before conceiving my second son, Walter.
“However, I soon gained weight again and, as a mother of two young children, found it difficult to make myself and my health a priority.”
Mary found herself turning down opportunities like attending her friends’ bachelorette parties and realized she needed to make a positive change when Freddie was due to start school in 2016.
“I was worried about being made fun of because of my size. Some of the mums at the baby groups I had attended mentioned Slimming World and a friend said she was joining our local group, so I decided to try it myself.
‘The group was nothing like the stereotypes I had seen on television. The consultant and other members welcomed me with warmth, attention and support; It was incredible.’
Mary, who lives in Crowborough with her husband Dafydd, Freddie, now 11, and Walter, eight, soon began enjoying Slime World’s healthy eating plan and introduced new healthy habits for the whole family, such as cooking from zero more frequently and walk. to school instead of taking the car.
She said: ‘My previous attempts to lose weight had left me hungry and irritable so, to be honest, I was expecting the same.
The mother-of-two struggled with her size for years and was diagnosed with high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia while pregnant with her eldest son, Freddie.
After failed attempts to lose weight, including fasting, he joined Slime World and lost seventh place. She has now maintained that weight loss for seven years and opened her own global slimming group helping other slimmers.
The mother has now been named Target World’s Best Weight Loss Consultant 2024
‘I couldn’t believe it when I was cooking food for the whole family, like spaghetti bolognese, Moroccan tagines with couscous or chilli with home fries.
‘No food is prohibited, there are hundreds of foods you can eat freely and others are simply controlled in different ways to protect your weight loss. And I was losing weight: I lost seventh place in ten months.’
Over time, Mary became more active with the help of the program’s physical activity support, which helps members introduce activity levels at their own pace and in a way that fits into daily routines.
She said: ‘I was quite active when I was younger, although this decreased as I got older. I was really worried about embarrassing myself by being red and out of breath.
‘So instead of joining a gym, I started walking, accompanied Freddie to nursery and then went to my global slimming group.
‘I then moved on to running around the block and slowly progressed to running a 10km race, which I’m very proud of.
“This year for Christmas, my kids even asked me for running shoes because they wanted to start running with me.”
María, over 17 years old, was advised to lose weight to control her blood pressure, especially if she became pregnant again.
Mary found herself turning down opportunities like attending her friends’ bachelorette parties and realized she needed to make a positive change when Freddie was due to start school in 2016.
Mary Watkins before losing weight. Her previous attempts to lose weight had left her hungry and irritable, so she expected the same with Sliming World, but she was pleasantly surprised.
Mary’s next achievement came when she decided to train to become a Global Weight Loss Consultant.
She said: ‘I felt so positive – full of life and energy – a world away from the person I was before I lost weight.
‘I wanted to bottle this feeling and give it to everyone who has ever struggled with their weight. Becoming a Consultant seemed like the next logical step. ‘I thought losing weight was the best feeling I’d ever had, but it turns out helping others lose weight is just as rewarding.
‘After having the children, I wanted a job that had the flexibility of being able to be there for school runs and sports days but still have a career I loved. This is just that!’
Mary Watkins with her children before losing weight. She managed to lose some weight between pregnancies, but it quickly gained back.
Over time, Mary became more active with the help of the program’s physical activity support, which helps members introduce activity levels at their own pace and in a way that fits into daily routines.
And after maintaining her goal weight for over seven years, people often ask Mary what her “secret” is to achieving successful long-term weight loss.
She said: ‘You have to make a change in your lifestyle. No one wants to “diet” for the rest of their life; However, I want to feel the way I feel every day.
‘Eating healthy and exercising comes naturally to me now, and it was my World slimming group that helped me get to this point.
‘Individual thinking about possible obstacles that you are encouraged to solve as a group, combined with the ideas of the other members, helped me find what worked for me.
‘It means I don’t feel like I’m missing out and that for the first time in my life I’m doing everything I’ve ever dreamed of. “I’m the fit, active mom I always wanted to be and that’s the best feeling.”