New Year slimming: ‘We lost 17 stone - and each gained a best friend’
Two slimmers who lost 17 stone between them say they have gained so much more since shedding the weight - including a new business, a love of running and a lifelong friendship.
Carol Szyszlyk was in a shop changing room when she made the decision that was going to transform her life. She was struggling to get into a size 20 top when it dawned on her that it wasn’t going to fit - and she began to sob.
“I wanted to buy myself a nice new outfit for New Year’s Eve as we were going out with family,” says Carol.
“I’d convinced myself that I was a size 20, but the top I was trying on wouldn’t go anywhere near me. I had to keep asking my husband to bring in bigger sizes and I was shocked to discover I actually needed a size 26. I was devastated.”
That’s when she made up her mind to join Slimming World and she was delighted to discover her husband Joe was willing to go along too, as moral support and to shed some pounds himself.
“I’d tried Slimming World several times before, starting when my son was born - and he’s now 33! But each time I became ill with an upset stomach and I only managed to lose about a stone. I had another two children and then in 2011 I decided to try to get healthier by giving up smoking - but I felt like my weight issues just couldn’t be helped,” she said.
Carol’s weight problems had been compounded because an undiagnosed medical condition, which meant every time she tried to increase her fruit and vegetable intake to lose weight and improve her diet she suffered agonising stomach pains. It had reached a point in 2012 when she decided to ask for her doctor’s help.
“My health started to worry me and my stomach issues worsened. I was referred for numerous tests and scans and then in October 2012 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. That explained why every time I upped my fruit and vegetables I became unwell. With medication I managed the illness, but in January 2014 I was very ill with a major flare up and ended up in hospital for 10 days and was very close to dying.
“I had an amazing hospital consultant and she gave me a wonder drug that saved my life at that point, but on leaving the hospital the only fruit and veg I could eat was cabbage, carrot and bananas. Worst of all for my waistline, the food I could eat with no problems was chocolate and takeaways - so the weight piled on.”
It was only realising that she was much larger than she had imagined that spurred Carol into action. She got help to change her medication and on January 4, 2017 joined her local Slimming World group.
“I weighed in at 18 stone 3lb, the heaviest I had ever been,” said Carol.
“This was a real-life changer for me. I had to learn to fall in love with food all over again as I hadn't really touched any fruit and veg in three years. I started to cook from scratch and discovered I enjoyed trying new recipes - I still try to make at least one new recipe every week. My medication had changed and this, together with my belief in the plan, saw the weight start to fall off. The support I got from the members was amazing and now there are some that I would class as family. I still can’t eat runner beans, which are my favourite, and occasionally tomatoes and strawberries. But I now eat food that I would never touch before.”
She switched to eating fat free yoghurt with berries for breakfast, salad for lunch and then a range of fat-free home made meals for dinner.
By September 2017 Carol had lost four stone and decided to take up running.
She said: “Physical activity had never been my cup of tea. At school I used to duck out PE at school when I could. So I downloaded the Couch to 5K app because it seemed achievable and you could build up over several weeks. With the support of my hubby Joe, I used to go out at 9.30pm so no one would see me wobbling around the park. But that feeling soon disappeared as we ran our first 5km in October 2017 in a time of 43 minutes, which I was so proud of. I have gone on to run several charity fundraising events and my times have come down. I try to run three times a week and in doing this I have inspired quite a few others from the Slimming World group to give it a go too”.
In addition to running, Carol has also started Latin and ballroom dance lessons with Joe and they have even danced at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. She has also climbed Mount Snowdon.
In January 2020, Carol reached her goal weight of 12 stone and was amazed when Joe proposed in the group, asking if she would renew their wedding vows.
“It was lovely,” she says. “Apparently he had been carrying the ring around for weeks waiting for me to reach my goal weight at the meeting. Before I lost weight I had felt we were drifting apart, just watching TV every evening, but now we do so much together and it has changed our lives.
“Without Slimming World, I could possibly have died, been divorced and in a job that I didn’t love any more, but now I have a healthy lifestyle, both food wise and physically, doing a job, that I absolutely love and I am planning to renew my vows in a size 12/14 dress.”
The other huge change in her life was meeting her best friend Clare Atkinson through the group. They had both been invited to a private shopping evening at Monsoon through their slimming groups and the pair hit it off. After that they joined a regular Zoom coffee morning during the pandemic and arranged socially-distanced walks.
Carol said: "Clare is my absolute rock. I've never had a best friend before, although I had friends at school and work, but never a best friend. She's so supportive and we share lots of the same passions - meeting her has been one of the best things about joining Slimming World. In fact my whole group is really nice - I've made so many friends there."
Clare, who has lost 10 stone 11lb, said: “When I joined the Slimming World coffee morning group I was on furlough and struggling with being at home all the time. I’d been reading Carol’s posts on Facebook about her running and she inspired me to try it for myself.
“Although at this point, I had lost a lot of weight, I still felt that running was so far out of my comfort zone. But being stuck at home didn’t appeal either, so I plucked up the courage to give Couch to 5k a try. I'd leave the house at 6am in the morning so I wouldn’t be seen by anyone.
“I surprised myself how quickly I started to run for longer periods of time, and my confidence in myself began to grow, with positive comments from Carol and friends.
“Carol and I found we had so much in common. We both loved to cook, so we shared Slimming World recipes and cooked for each other with our partners meeting too. We started to meet up all the time and now I would say she has become my rock. We discussed how we had both struggled with our mental health due to our weight and found we had walked similar paths.
“We continued to meet up on a Sunday morning to run together and that’s when we talked a lot about the possibilities of becoming Slimming World consultants in the future.”
Clare, 53, had decided to lose weight on the spur of the moment after she saw a photo of herself that her daughter had taken.
“I was walking my daughter’s dog and didn’t know she had taken the photo but when I saw it I burst into tears and I said enough’s enough. I'd never realised how big I actually had got. That was the reason that I couldn’t walk very far and didn’t want to go out in public.
At a size 30 and weighing over 22 stone, she entered her class unsure of what she could achieve.
“I started my journey with Slimming World in February 2017 but had been struggling with my weight for most of my life and this was my third time trying Slimming World. The two times before when I was in my early 20s and again in my 30s. I had convinced myself that I could only lose two stones and I did both times, but this was where my journey ended and I had felt my body couldn’t lose any more.
“When I rejoined in February 2017 I had gained the weight back and was feeling very low, with no self-confidence and my anxiety was bad. But after talking to my consultant I felt inspired and motivated to restart my journey.
“The first week I loved being so in control with everything I was eating, my mood already felt better. It took me a while to become familiar again with the plan but after a couple of weeks and receiving my half stone award, my confidence had already begun to grow.”
Losing two stones felt like a milestone moment, but reaching her five stone award was when Clare really began to notice the changes. “I started looking at old photos and could see the difference,” she said.
Before joining Slimming World, Clare didn’t have breakfast and would buy a supermarket sandwich for lunch.
“Then I would be really starving in the evening and have a massive meal. I didn’t move a lot, I didn’t walk much and that’s how I put on weight.”
Once she started the diet, Clare discovered the sandwiches she had been eating contained 600-700 calories and snacks she thought nothing of quickly added up.
“Those high fat, high sugar foods that come in tiny shiny packets don’t fill you up so you can eat lots of them. At Slimming World I discovered I could eat loads of food for much fewer calories. I eat much more now but it is all low fat and healthy. I have a big breakfast, a filling lunch and a big dinner now. I’m never hungry.”
Now she eats lots of berries with porridge for breakfast or homemade muffins. On Sundays she has grilled bacon, egg, low fat sausage, tomatoes, scrambled eggs and toast.
“People say how do you eat so much and lose weight? But I enjoy a lot of protein, lots of fruits, lots of fresh vegetables and loads of lean meat and any fish. I minimise any foods high in fat or sugar. But I can still go out for dinner or enjoy a glass of wine.”
Carol was the first of the pair to be approached to become a Slimming World consultant.
Clare said: “I knew Carol would make an amazing consultant and encouraged her to grab this opportunity with both hands. I supported Carol and was privileged to attend her opening night, where she was amazing. A few months later I also received a call from Slimming World offering myself to join the Slimming World family and open my own group in January 2021. Our friendship has continued to grow, with days out, holidays and meeting each other’s families. Carol attended my opening night and held my hand when I lost confidence in myself - it was the most amazing evening.”
Now both women have started their own Slimming World groups and are hoping to inspire even more people to enjoy success like theirs.
Carol’s group is at Tillage Hall in Waterbeach on Mondays at 5.30pm and 7pm. Clare’s group is at The Orchard Community Centre, Arbury, on Thursdays at 5.30pm and 7pm. All are welcome.
