Real Success

Sue Wright from Derbyshire lost more than 7st to beat post-natal depression and has now beaten off competition from slimmers all over the UK to win the title of Consultant Slimmer of the Year 2010.

Sue, who now has a successful career helping others lose weight, started to gain weight around 10 years ago after moving away from home and living on ready meals, takeaways and convenience foods. Sue says: “I was very lonely and food was my comfort. That changed when I met my husband Dave but I still didn’t improve my eating habits. I wasn’t lonely anymore, I was very happy in fact, but we settled into a lifestyle which saw us both gain more weight.”

After giving birth to their first son Liam, now four, Sue was diagnosed with post-natal depression and once again turned to food, comfort eating her way to a size 24. “It was an awful illness and a long road to recovery but I got there,” she says.

Sue and Dave celebrated her recovery with a wedding in August 2007 and Sue even managed to lose a stone by dieting on her own before the big day, but two months later she fell pregnant with their second son Hayden.

After having Hayden, now two, Sue was terrified she’d suffer a second bout of post-natal depression so sought comfort in food once again, which led to her putting on more weight. But when the family went on holiday to Weymouth she was confronted with the reality of her size and everything changed. “I was sitting on a beach, hiding in our beach tent and refusing to strip down any further than wearing a pair of three-quarter-length trousers. I wanted to be out on the sand, playing with my children, splashing in the water with them, so I decided then and there that the depression wasn’t going to control me. I was going to beat it and losing weight was the place to start. I needed to get my life back – after all, it was the only one I was going to get.”

Once home in September 2008 Sue joined her local Slimming World group. “I was terrified of walking through the door, but the moment I did I was greeted by a smiling face – my Consultant Leigh. I always remember that day and try to make my new members feel as safe and welcome as everyone made me.”

Slimming World’s Food Optimising eating plan was another surprise. “I couldn’t believe I could still eat, that I didn’t have to go hungry. It wasn’t a diet, just a new way of thinking about food. Nothing was off limits and I finally learned how to cook healthy meals from scratch, including how to add different things to bulk them out so I felt full. What’s even better is the whole family enjoy my cooking too so I don’t need to make a separate meal for myself and I know they’re all eating well too – Dave’s

(continued above)

even lost 4st! One of our favourites is homemade chicken tikka masala with rice and homemade onion bhajis.”

Sue also joined a gym and started attending spinning classes, even taking part in a sponsored spinning event at a local supermarket. She’s also recently taken up ballroom and Latin dancing which has helped her waltz her way from a size 24 to a slinky size 10.

While Sue’s shrunk in size, her confidence has grown with her socialising with friends more often. She says: “I’ve made friends for life at my Slimming World group. I know I couldn’t have done it without their support, advice and motivation. It’s actually them I have to thank for persuading me to be a Consultant.”

In February 2010, Sue opened her first Slimming World group and she now runs three group helping 90 people to lose weight each week. “If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d be standing up in front of so many people every week, I’d have thought they were mad. But now I have confidence I’ve never had before and I love helping people in my local community to feel the same, especially young mums. Being a Consultant really is the best job in the world and winning the competition is just the cherry on the top of the cake.

“I’ve recently celebrated my 30th birthday and it was wonderful to be slim at 30 and to know I’ll never have to be embarrassed on a beach again. It’s not me keeping up with the kids – they struggle to keep up with me!”

find out more

If you'd like to reveal the real you, find your nearest warm and friendly Slimming World group, where men and women are welcome.