EP14: Finding the right balance for long term weight loss – Joe’s success story

Joe has certainly made waves in the weight loss community, starting at a young age. He is not only an ambassador for WW but was also a child star in a Rosemary Connelly fitness DVD and wrote a column in her magazine!

During this great episode, Joe shares how lockdown interrupted his weight loss success and many changes in his life created challenges for him. He also talks about how the “slow and steady” approach to losing weight is proving more success for him this year and how it feels more like a lifestyle change than a diet.

Main Topics

01:12 – Meet Joe

01:50 – Growing up and gaining weight

02:30 – Losing weight with Rosemary Connelly

05:35 – Joining a friend at WW to support them

06:35 – From losing 6 stone to Lockdown

14:40 – Losing 45lbs in 6 months and setting goals

16:40 – Opting for healthier options

21:47 – The impact of Lockdown

24:50 – Getting back into WW

28:24 – The mind game of life after weight loss

30:36 – Finding the right balance for long term success

34:15 – Advice from Joe

Make sure you check out Joe’s Instagram account joeswwjourney and see his amazing transformation.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP13: Erika explains why acceptance is as important, if not more so than weight loss.

If this was a Friends episode, it would be called; “The one with all the great advice”

Erika joins me to share not just her story, but an amazing amount of important truths that contribute to making your weight loss journey both successful and one that you feel truly happy about.

In what is so far the longest podcast episode, I did warn Erika we made need to shorten it to stay consistent, but upon listening to the sheer amount of helpful suggestions and reminders to be kind to ourselves, it’s all stayed in!

One of the topics I hope helps some of our listeners is related to a skin condition called Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) that Erika suffered with. Although its cause is officially unknown, many people who suffer are smokers and/or overweight. HS causes painful skin abscesses and boils resulting in a lot of discomfort and scarring. Erika talks openly about how this affected her life and the path she took to receive treatment.

Erika also shares great insight to how important it is to learn to accept your body as your own individual and unique gift, not to be compared or in competition with anyone else.

It was a pleasure to have such a positive and open minded guest on the WLW podcast and this is without mentioning the incredible 7 stone Erika has lost as part of her journey.

Main topics:

02:06 – Meet Erika and her struggle with weight

04:00 – Being a young mum and managing everything

05:38 – Throwing the scales away and acceptance of being “fat for life”

06:28 – The moment Erika decided to make a change

10:24 – The impact of being overweight on Erika’s life

11:51 – How a skin called Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) condition created a painful and difficult time  

19:25 – Getting help if you suffer from HS

22:05 – Erika’s winding, twisting journey to success

32:00 – The importance of planning for long term success

37:30 – How Erika’s Instagram started out as a place for her to journal (now over 68k followers)

42:52 – Follow Erika on Instagram

Make sure you check out Rachel’s Instagram account erikasworld_sw and see her amazing transformation.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP12: How believing “it’s never too late to try” helped Rachel lose weight

After receiving the news that Rachel was suffering 3 autoimmune related illnesses, the road to recovery proved very difficult and lengthy. The prescribed treatment was a form of steroid which led to increased appetite, weight gain and overeating.

Following this, Rachel was blessed with a daughter however the weight gain during pregnancy was something she was finding a challenge to cope with and talks in this episode about not feeling her best and or recognising herself.

Discover how Rachel made the decision to lose weight and joined Weight Watchers after a supportive conversation with a friend. Her journey so far, like so many of us has not been linear, however Rachel has lost an incredible 45lbs and feels a lot better and happier for it.

Main topics:

01:27 – Meet Rachel

02:16 – Health issues, medication & weight gain

06:00 – Mental wellbeing and getting support

07:28 – Rachels’s decision to lose weight

11:35 – Overcoming the feeling of “Why me?”

13:20 – Joining WW and being inspired by a friend

14:40 – Losing 45lbs in 6 months and setting goals

16:40 – Opting for healthier options

19:58 – Why this time is different

24:54 – Inspiring advice from Rachel

27:05 – Follow Rachel on Instagram

Make sure you check out Rachel’s Instagram account ww_rachelsjourney and see her amazing transformation.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP11: An insight to gastric sleeve surgery and how for Charmane this has changed her life.

Today’s episode ticks two “WLW Podcast exclusive” boxes in that this is our very first weight loss success story from a Warrior who has undergone Gastric Sleeve Surgery, and also happens to be from Australia!

Charmane explains how she had struggled with weight throughout her childhood and how obesity still impacts a lot of her family members.

After trying as many diets and methods to lose weight as she possibly could, Charmane talks about how the constant failure to lose weight affected her mental wellbeing and led her to looking to the more drastic solution of surgery.

Obviously, this was no easy decision to make and in this episode you can hear about many of the considerations that are important to think about. Charmane discusses the mental challenges, process, recovery and her life after having a Gastric Sleeve.

I was surprised to learn it’s not the “quick fix” that many may think and there are a lot of ways in which her life has changed for good. I am extremely grateful to Charmane being so open and honest about her journey and strongly recommend to listen and share this with anyone considering surgery as there is some great advice on both the good and negative side effects of having this procedure.

Main topics:

02:10 – Meet Charmane

04:30 – Growing up as an overweight child

07:41 – Dealing with body dysmorphia

10:30 – The moments that led to Charmane’s decision

13:45 – Treating surgery as a last resort and researching surgery

19:00 – How weight loss led to a loss of confidence

21:30 – The first months after having surgery

22:49 – Changing the way you eat

25:09 – Importance of a good diet and nutrition

27:47 – Hiding the truth about surgery

30:00 – Life now for Charmane

Make sure you check out Charmane’s Instagram account shrinkinginsydney and see her amazing transformation.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP10: Why fad diets didn’t work for Richard and how he lost over 8 stone the right way.

After being bullied at school and college, Richard took drastic measures of starving himself to lose weight.

Listen to how he turned to being the “funny one” as a coping mechanism to disguise his true feelings about being overweight and how this impacted his life.

Richard’s story will take you on a very common journey that so many people will relate to covering emotional eating, the feeling of always being on a diet and the loneliness that can occur with obesity.

Luckily, through hard work and a lot of determination, hear how Richard decided he wasn’t going to be “Fat and 40” and was able to go on to lose over 8 stone.

He shares the amazing impact it has had on his life and how his confidence enabled him to be himself for the first time.

Main topics:

1:11   – Meet our guest, Richard

02:40 – Richard’s life being overweight

03:18 – How bullying caused Richard to take drastic measures to lose weight

05:12 – How being the college clown impacted life

08:27 – Turning 38 and making a decision to change

09:32 – Being on a diet “all his life” and what made this time different.

13:00 – How medical issues and a video of himself gave Richard the final push he needed

17:50 – 18 months and 8 stone in weight loss.

20:43 – Richard’s advice to our listeners wanting to lose weight

25:04 – Body positivity and doing what makes YOU happy

Make sure you check out Richard’s Instagram account: Richard_barnsley_sw – He shares his full transformation photos including his tummy tuck results.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP09: How Steph has lost 5 stone after a life long struggle with her weight.

Today we meet Steph, a mum of 3 boys tackling a male dominated house and her own personal stuggle with weight loss.

In this episode Steph shares her weight loss success story as we discuss some of the simple changes she made in order to kick start her journey.

I get advice on how to help support someone in the initial stages and encouraging someone to lose weight without offending them, as well as sharing practical tips to change damaging behaviours that can lead to weight gain.

Steph also gives an insight to why the scales can be both a great tool for tracking weight but a cause of anxiety and stress, and how to avoid becoming obsessed with them.

This was a fun conversation and Steph describes some of the moments during her journey in a light-hearted way, ultimately leading up to today where she has a new challenge she is working towards.

Main topics:

1:17 – Meet Steph

02:22 – Steph’s struggle with controlling her weight

5:35 – Wishing someone had said something sooner

07:54 – How a supportive partner can help

11:50 – Steph’s decision to lose weight

15:10 – Learning to stop treating food as a reward

17:30 – How our culture revolves around food and drink

22:20 – Steph using Instagram to find inspiration and support

23:20 – The problem with scales

24:35 – How group provides accountability and the psychology behind working for a sticker

28:52 – Life now and the benefits of losing 5 stone.

Make sure you check out Steph’s Instagram account slim.with.steph and see her amazing transformation.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP08: How following a weight loss program enabled Ryan to lose 10 stone and win a national award for his efforts.

When I sat down to speak with Ryan (both times… Listen to find out why) I had no idea of the recognition he had received for his amazing transformation however it turned out I was among weight loss royalty.

Ryan was named “Mr Sleek 2022” by Slimming World which is a national award given annually to someone who has achieved something amazing. Ryan didn’t mention it during our chat, which goes to show how humble and modest he really is, although later admitted how proud he was to have received this award.

In this episode, we discuss how “not having time to lose weight” can be an excuse many of us use and how Ryan overcame his life long battle with weight.

Main topics:

1:51   – About Ryan & life as a teacher

3.41   – Life being overweight

10:04 – Educating young people to be more healthy

13:58 – The turning point to make a change

18:38 – Ryan’s achievement

20:00 – No regrets, but wishing he started sooner

26:20 – Ryan’s advice if you want to lose weight

27.25 – Chef Ryan sharing his cooking secrets and Instagram details

Make sure you check out Ryan’s Instagram account: Ryanquinnslimmingworld and learn how to cook his amazing carrot and parsnip mash!

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation,

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EP07: How a dream location created a nightmare for Kathryn. An honest and open success story on weight loss, addiction and living a healthy lifestyle.

You may think moving to the Cayman Islands to pursue a well-paid career would bring nothing but sunshine and happiness. Unfortunately for Kathryn it became a lonely and dangerous environment as life began to spiral out of control.

Listen to the inspiring and honest story of how Kathryn hit rock bottom and made a decision to turn her life around. This episodes Weight Loss Warrior has gone on to reach her target and quite literally turned her life around, now sharing her journey and hoping to help others.

Kathryn also highlights the important fact that everyone is different and how body positivity is so vital both for yourself and when considering the feelings of others.

UPDATE: Since recording this episode, Kathryn is now single and focusing on her continued success and personal growth. She has given her permission to share the episode and wanted to highlight that this was, and remains an important part of her story. I’d like to wish Kathryn every success and can’t wait to have her back to update us soon!

Main topics:

2:04 – Meet Kathryn and her life before losing weight

03:56 – Body positivity and not comparing yourself to others

06:13 – A downward spiral and weight gain

14:30 – The 2nd Lockdown and decision to turn things around

20:30 – Creating new lifestyle habits

26:10 – 5 top pieces of advice for anyone wanting to lose weight

29:32 – Life now and the benefits of losing weight

Make sure you check out Kathryn’s Instagram account: swtargetkathryn and take inspiration from the amazing changes she has made to her life.

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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EP06: How losing weight has given Gem a level of confidence she didn’t know was possible.

Covid was a difficult time for so many people, and this was no exception for Gem. Challenging moments within her family and a considerable weight gain left Gem struggling and unhappy with both her physical and mental health.

Although making the decision and taking that first step and starting on her weight loss journey was frightening and provoked a high level of anxiety, Gem looks back during our interview and is extremely glad that she did.

Listen to Gem's weight loss success story and how losing weight with a long term plan in mind is helping Gem to stay focused while discovering benefits she is seeing from her journey.

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EP05: Using positive energy and focus to lose over 5 stone - Joe's weight loss success story

Joe Thompson knew it was time to lose weight after an already large suit had to have further adjustments prior to two close friend’s weddings. Having yo-yo dieted throughout his years at Uni, Joe was able to get in good shape until settling down with his husband and ended up gaining more weight than he felt happy with.

After looking at the various options, Joe decided to try Slimming World.

The journey that followed is shared in this episode and is one of inspiration, optimism and an incredible outcome.

Make sure you check out Joe’s Instagram account: joeyjoejoe__sw

Here you will find his amazing before and after photos, the great food he is cooking and some really thought provoking videos tackling interesting topics.

Key Moments:

1:45   – About Joe & Life before losing weight

3.10   – The big moment that changed the future

7.57   – Losing weight with Slimming World

12:58 – Ups and downs

19:52 – Life now

33:15 – Advice to listeners

35.24 – Following our guest on Insta

To ensure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the WLW podcast and get weight loss motivation, inspiration and support. Click here now and become part of our tribe.

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