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When Sonia was asked to dance on a stage in front of an audience, she suddenly realised just how unhappy she was with her body. The thought of going up on stage and performing was just the right push for Sonia to take control of her health and her weight and after years of eating unhealthily, she turned her life around with Weigh-Less.
When I was overweight, I was depressed and sad
I was happy with my weight on my wedding day but over time I gained a lot of weight and only after the first 5kg gain did I realise it was even happening The weight gain was due to bad eating habits and lack of portion control. We then started building our new home and this caused a lot of stress, so this caused me to turn to food for comfort. My bad habits continued but when my sister announced her upcoming wedding (and she also struggles with her weight) we both wanted to look our best. We started training with a personal trainer and thought this would be all we needed to get back in shape. I didn’t change my unhealthy eating habits and often binged on food thinking that I could just burn the calories in the gym the next day. I had become accustomed to eating late at night, waiting for my husband to come home from work to have dinner we would sometimes only eat at about 10pm. I have also never been a fan of eating breakfast so I would leave the house having eaten nothing, then throughout the day I would skip meals. It didn’t help that I was working in clothing production at the time and spent a lot of time on the road, sourcing fabrics and visiting manufacturers, I felt like I didn’t have time to stop and have a healthy meal.
Being overweight made me feel disgusted with myself and I shied away from my husband, I would even make him leave the room while I was getting dressed. Going out was a nightmare, trying on clothes and seeing the dress size constantly increasing really took a toll on my self-esteem and confidence. Working in the fashion industry made it even more difficult, creating all these beautiful clothes but never being able to wear any of them was heart-breaking. This eventually caused me to give it up and take a job in my husband’s office, hiding behind a desk doing paperwork. My health wasn’t effected too much but there is a history of diabetes in my family and I knew that if I didn’t change something quickly, I would end up developing it.
I will never forget a few weeks before I joined Weigh-Less, we were invited to a birthday party and I really wanted to wear my ¾ pants but they were too tight. I phoned my mom in tears and told her I wasn’t going to the party anymore because I had nothing to wear. She told me not to worry and that she might have something for me to borrow, when I got to her place she gave me her ¾ jeans and even those were tight on me, my mom is by no means overweight, the problem was that I had always been 2 to 3 sizes smaller than her and at that moment fitting into those ¾ jeans made me feel bigger than I’ve ever felt.
I tried a few different weight loss methods, the soup diet, the watermelon diet, diet pills, even injections; I would lose a few kg and then gain even more. After spending almost two weeks in Margate on holiday, eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I got home that same day and jumped on the scale and saw that I weighed 73.2kg – the heaviest I have ever been. I then realised that I had picked up over 10kg since my wedding day, that is when I knew I had to do something about my weight. My sister had just joined Weigh-Less and told me about her wonderful results within a few weeks and how great the eating plan was, she encouraged me to join with her.
I joined a Group close to my home. My Group Leader was amazing and never failed to greet me with a big smile. She always encouraged me whether I lost or gained and she was ready with a wonderful compliment for me that would keep me going. My first week on Weigh-Less was a huge change for me, I couldn’t believe how much food I could eat, I didn’t think it was possible to lose weight from eating so much food, but by the end of my first week I had already lost 1.8kg.
After losing that first week I got such an emotional lift. I grabbed all my old clothes that did not fit me and measured in cm to see how much I needed to lose till they closed, and decided to measure every week to see if the gap was smaller, and it was. The day the clothes fit me the sadness was gone and I was so happy!
My husband never really said anything to me about my weight before, but for the first half on my journey to Goal Weight, he congratulated me on every kilogram lost. He sometimes got worried and told me that I didn’t need to lose any more weight, but eventually he realised that Weigh-Less is not a diet but a healthy lifestyle. My sister was also my personal cheerleader.
After the first 5 weeks I started to notice that my clothes were getting a bit looser on me, it made me feel great. People would also ask me if I had lost weight and when I would tell them about being on Weigh-Less. They would always tell me that I didn’t need to lose weight, but if your self-esteem is non-existent and losing a few kg’s will help then why not? I reached my Goal Weight and I was so happy, I felt so confident again. I love to be around people now and I take every chance I can to get dressed up and socialize. My personal life has been affected too, I don’t want my husband to take his eyes off me, I’m no longer hiding from him. Being on Goal Weight for me means health, happiness and a great self-esteem.
At first, I struggled to avoid the chocolates, but eventually I realised that I could give treat myself once a week and it doesn’t lead to a weight gain.
These things aren’t bad for you if you have them in moderation. I never leave the house without having had breakfast and I always have a bottle of water in my bag, along with a yogurt and a fruit. When I go out for dinner I always opt for something like a chicken salad or wrap, I also always choose vegetables over chips and I stay far away from any fried food. 
I love shopping now, I am always trying on new things and I don’t hide in big jeans and a T-shirt anymore. Now the problem is that there are too many choices! My eating plan has become a part of my life, I still stick to it but I don’t even have to think about it anymore, it’s like my brain has reprogrammed itself. I hope to start a family some day and my goal is to teach them about living a healthy lifestyle and that moderation is the key to health and happiness.
I tried to be very positive throughout my journey, but my biggest hardship was learning to say no. I am Portuguese and I married into a very big Portuguese family so there were many family gatherings and always loads of food. I had to learn to be in that environment and say no to deserts or the snacks being passed around every five minutes. Now that the weight is gone, I still get the odd statement “You’re too thin, get some more food,” but I am stronger now mentally and emotionally and have overcome my hardship with my Weigh-Less lifestyle. I now love going to parties and getting new outfits.
Exercise has also become a very important part of my new lifestyle and goes hand in hand with a healthy eating plan like Weigh-Less. I go to gym for an hour, at least four times a week, doing a combination of weights, cardio and try to keep it diverse and interesting. Doing exercise on a regular basis will help you maintain and lose weight; it will only enhance the already amazing effects of the eating plan.
