Cramlington woman reaches Slimming World Woman of the Year semi finals after losing over four stone in eight months

Karen joined the Slimming World group at Doxford Place Methodist Church in July 2022 and lost six pounds in her first week, going on to lose four stone and four pounds by January.

Her group nominated her for the national competition in celebration of her achievement.

She said: “I was absolutely flummoxed, I really was. I could not believe it.

“I did not progress to the finals but I am not sad about that. I was really nervous and anxious because I had to speak in front of people.”

Karen’s life has “really changed for the better” after she started losing weight. She said: “I feel a lot healthier and my confidence has come back.

“When I was at my biggest I was so ashamed of myself and I really hated myself.”

Her mental health had deteriorated and she did not want to leave the house, despite support from her husband.

Karen said: “He was not ashamed of me at all. He actually started Slimming World at the same time as me to help me, so we could have the same meals and he could encourage me along the way.

“I am confident again and I actually love clothes shopping now, much to my husband’s dismay. When I go out now I like socialising and meeting new people.

“I feel like a normal person, I know that sounds stupid. I feel like I blend in now, like I am not being judged and talked about.”

Karen’s struggles first started when her Mum, for whom she was a carer, died of breast cancer in 2010.

She said: “I am a big comfort eater so I was comfort eating really badly. I ended up putting loads of weight on.”

After managing to reign in her unhealthy eating she was left “terrified” by her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2014, and found herself comfort eating once again.

It took Karen eight years to get clear of cancer, with her treatment also contributing to her weight gain.

She eventually weighed 14 stone and developed type 2 diabetes, asthma, and joint pains, before deciding she was “sick of being poorly every day” and it was time to join Slimming World, her third attempt to stick with a weight loss group.

She said: “I felt quite nervous about going in because you think people are going to be looking at you, but that did not happen.

“All the group were really welcoming, so I thought: ‘I can do this, I can go and lose weight.’”

Karen said the group was “over the moon” for her when she returned a week later six pounds lighter, and it gave her the self-belief she needed to reach her target weight.

She also started regular aquafit classes, to which she also attributes her success. She has become a regular attendee at the gym now too, with exercise doing as much for her mental health as her physical health.

She said: “It gives me my life back now because I feel absolutely brilliant.”