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A Manchester Mum loses over 10 stone and finally improves her quality of life dramatically

Amanda Dean, Manchester has suffered for 15 years with chronic pain issues which include degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis of the spine, fibromyalgia, chronic pain syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome (known as ME).

Amanda says ‘these conditions took over my life and I was mostly bedridden due to the pain they caused, I was suffering with severe depression and anxiety due to these conditions as I had no control over them’. I was told by numerous doctors and physiotherapists that there was nothing they could do and I was never told that my weight wasn’t helping my conditions. 

Amanda shares that back in October 2018 she decided she needed to take back the control of her life and began calorie counting as she felt that losing weight would help ease the misery she was feeling about herself and in the hope it would also reduce the pain she was suffering on a daily basis, following the loss of losing 2 stone Amanda became the losses stopped. 

In February 2019 Amanda heard through a friend about Slimming World so decided to join her local group, Amanda says “ I was really skeptical about joining a Slimming World group, I really didn’t know what to expect, I was still feeling depressed and had low self esteem about myself and how I looked and whether people would judge me as I do myself and I  would I feel uncomfortable about being in that situation but how wrong I was.

“My consultant Nicola welcomed me and put me at ease straight away, she explained that the group would be essential in supporting me to achieve my chosen target as this is where she would be supporting me each and every week with setting my own goals, working on weekly behaviour changes and the psychological element that Slimming world have over 50 Year’s experience in. 

“I committed to staying to group every week and am so pleased I did as  I leave group each week with tons of food ideas, motivation and have a great time whilst I’m there and found it was nothing like I thought it was going to be. It is where I get motivation from, it allows me to put a line under the previous week and get focused for the week ahead.

“Nicola is great at holding me accountable and has taken the time to understand me and what support works. I have made some fabulous friends in the group who from that very first day treated me with kindness, warmth and understanding.” 

Dr Jacquie Lavin, Special Advisor on the science of weight management at Slimming World states  

“Our Slimming World groups are the original social network. For more than 50 years our members have found a sense of belonging within our groups – one they might not feel anywhere else – as they’ve joined together with like-minded people who understand how it feels to be overweight. At Slimming World, we understand it’s a physical and a psychological journey and members need support to tackle both. 

“The sense of belonging our members instantly feel within our groups helps to lift them out of the loneliness and isolation they tell us they feel, to shed any burden of guilt and shame they carry as a result of the way they feel they’re often treated in society, and to make them feel more valued. 

Amanda goes onto say that “In my very first week I lost 6lb and as the weeks and months passed by enjoying following the easy food optimising plan I continued to lose even more weight and this made me so much happier, less than 12 months later by Christmas 2019 I had reached my initial first personal weight loss goal of 5 stone and my confidence grew, enabling me to buy clothes from shops that I thought I would never fit into.” Amanda reached her next goal in November 2021 and admits “since I’ve achieved my weight loss target of 10 stone I have become happier in myself, my confidence is growing more each week and most importantly I can manage my conditions better, I still suffer with pain, but I’m in control of it and it no longer controls me” 

After revisiting her doctor to take advice around becoming more active Amanda was thrilled to be told that she could in fact incorporate light exercise which would help her to build up her muscle strength. Almost immediately Amanda took it upon herself to join the local gym and now enjoys an early morning workout, Amanda goes onto say “I’m thrilled that being able to combine Slimming Worlds Food Optimising and Body Magic Activity Program I am able to look after my weight and my fitness levels, I’ve never felt so good in my clothes” 

Having found her love of activity and exercise, reignited her love for cooking again and the best thing about meals is that you can make the meals from scratch and you can adapt recipes, so they fit in with food optimising. Amanda loves making curry, chicken broth, spaghetti bolognaise and her family favourites are spaghetti bolognaise and homemade beef koftas. Before joining slimming World Amanda would skip breakfast then eat biscuits, crisp and chocolate throughout the day and have something like battered chicken and chips for tea, dessert would be egg custard tarts or 2 vanilla slices. 

Slimming world has help me plan my weekly meals, so I now write a shopping list of the things we need and I stick to that list. I no longer feel the need to buy biscuits, crisps and chocolate. I’m always satisfied with the meals I have, so I don’t crave any of the sweet stuff I once indulged on. 

The members that attend the group I go to are lovely, they’re so supportive of each other and we are like one big happy family. We often look back on how our eating habits have changed and we share recipe ideas with each other. 

Amanda has now stepped into the role of a consultant herself and is excited for her future and her members future being able to support others around her each and every week, for more information call Amanda on 07411 856228 pop down to her group each Monday at 7pm at Urmston Sports Club.