Nurse Julie Dropped 2 Stone in 10 Weeks! Her Incredible Slimpod Transformation Story

Hello, I'm Sandra Roycroft-Davis and I'm founder of the SlimPod Programme. Today I'm having a conversation with a lovely lady called Julie who is a nurse and has been on our programme since January 2020, and she's got an amazing story to tell, especially especially if you have something like fibromyalgia, for example, and it's just really, really inspiring, really interesting, and I'm so pleased that you're joining us. So, Julie, you are— you've been on the SlimPod programme since 23rd of January 2020, and so over to you. You tell us a little bit about your experiences.

Okay, so I've been having problems with weight loss, yo-yo dieting, since I was 17. As a child, I was very skinny. When I was 17, I went for my nurse interview and had a medical, and the person doing the medical told me that I was just within the healthy weight range, and if I put on any more weight, I wouldn't be able to do my nurse training. And I weighed 9 stone 10 pounds at the time. So I went home and I started my first diet, and I've been dieting ever since.

Wow.

I've tried everything going, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Dukan Diet, Atkins, Cabbage Diet, you name it, and I've lost weight. But it always goes back on. So in 2007, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I'd had a period of being in extreme pain, no energy whatsoever, and as a consequence, I had to stop exercising, and then my weight went even higher. And it became a vicious circle, even more so than what it had been before. So I still carried on trying all these different diets, trying to exercise. I've never enjoyed exercise in my life. I've never got the post-exercise buzz. Something I've done because I felt I had to do it, but I've never enjoyed it at all. And then January this year, I saw the advert for the 10-day free trial of SlimPod, and I thought, right, I'm gonna try it. So I did, and usually I'm very good with food in work. I take healthy food to work. It's just in the evenings, I live on my own, I sit down, and I get bored.

And that's when I eat.

So I started on the 23rd of January, which was a Thursday, and I knew I'd be okay Thursday, Friday, but the Saturday and Sunday would be the big trial. Saturday came and I plotted about all day, and it got to about 6 o'clock at night and I realized I hadn't eaten all day. I just wasn't hungry. So obviously I ate at that point, and it just carried on from that. Then I carried on with the programme after the 10-day trial, and round about that time I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to do exercise.

Right.

Wanted to do it, but it's always been a massive problem because of the fibromyalgia. So what I did was I set myself small goals and I started exercising, and it sounds silly, but a minute a day, right? Which I did. I built it up every day since. So now I do 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a day with no body reaction of pain or excessive fatigue or anything like that.

Incredible.

I'm not getting a huge buzz from it, but I'm doing it, and it's the first thing I do when I get up in the morning, straight away, before I have a drink, before I do anything. I'm exercising.

Amazing.

So my chronic pain is actually less than what it's been for a long time.

And that's incredible, isn't it? Yeah. That kind of difference, because, you know, before it would have been the pain that would have stopped you, wasn't it? So there's been a massive difference there. And do you think it's because of the way that you've done it slowly, or?

Yeah, I think if I'd have gone what I, with what I've done in the past, I don't have much patience, I'll go in all guns blazing, and I think I would have had the reaction, pain reaction, and that's it, I would have stopped. But I set myself small goals, and I recorded it every single day in my journal, which SlimPod recommends that you, you do. And I just built it up gradually, and I've had no pain reaction from it. Occasionally I do ache a little bit because sometimes I'll sneak an extra 5 minutes in, but it doesn't give me the chronic long-term pain. I don't take any painkillers. I'm sleeping better. I still wake 3, 4 times a night, but before I was 20, 30 times a night.

Amazing.

I'm waking up And I'm not tired.

And that, Julie, must make a massive difference to your food consumption. Do you think it was the tiredness that was making you eat so many snacks, or was that just, was that a habit, or, you know, how can you explain that one?

I think I did, because I was so tired, I did eat high sugary snacks.

Yeah.

But I think it also became a habit, if I'm being honest with you. I think it's a bit of both. If I do snack now, which is very, very rare, it would be a handful of mixed nuts or some raisins or something like that. My favourite foods are chocolate, bread, and cheese, and if there's no other food in the world, I could survive. But I still eat those three, but I don't have them every day. And when I do, it's not a guilt reaction. I'm not hung up on the scales anymore. I know the, the Slimpod programme recommends that you don't weigh, but I still weigh. That's fine.

You know what, we recommend that you don't weigh because so many people have an emotional reaction, but if it's actually a motivator, then you know what, it's whatever works.

I've always been a serial weigher. I used to weigh every day, twice a day, and if my weight plateaued, that was it. I went into self-sabotage mode, and that was it.

I—

but what I'm doing now is I weigh once a week, and it doesn't matter what the scales say. I don't— beginning of March, I had 2 weeks when the scales didn't alter, it didn't go up and it didn't go down. I know in the past I would have gone straight into self-sabotage, it's not working. I didn't, I just told myself, my body's readjusting, just carry on.

And 2 weeks later, it started going down again.

So that's a total different mindset.

Yeah, yeah, I was about to say, you know, because that, we have so many people coming to the program who, if they saw that happening, they'd say, oh, it's not working, blah blah. So you were the same type of person?

Exactly the same. I'd get off the scales, even if they're the same and I hadn't put on, and I go straight to the fridge. But I just— the 2 mornings, the 2 weeks I weighed and there was no change, I just said, it's fine, my body's just catching up.

Okay.

And that's it.

Never ever entered my head to self-sabotage. Just carried on with the program. Trusted in it and carried on losing weight.

I think that's a major thing. So you were saying that you've had quite a few standout benefits, haven't you, as well? You know, the exercises help. What other things have you noticed specifically about your eating? Because just let us know how much weight you've lost now.

I'm 2 stone now, got on the scales yesterday.

Amazing, amazing. Well done, that's fantastic.

Yeah, so dress sizes, I used to be a 22 on my bottom half, I'm now in an 18. My top half used to be a 20, that's now a 16, so I've dropped 2 dress sizes. I'm losing inches, but I didn't measure myself right at the beginning, So I haven't got the full benefit of seeing the inches go down, but they are definitely going down now. Yeah, I just feel more confident.

That's in 3 months?

10 weeks.

10 weeks? Yeah, that is just phenomenal. Especially, you know, it's not just about the weight though, is it? It's the, it's the things that have changed for you. And you've had an illness to battle.

Yeah.

And that, that is the thing that I'm just wanting to get across to people, you know. If people like you can do this thing and change so much and have the mindset that after so many years of it— I mean, it was 2007 that you were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. And so if You can do it. You know, it is just— with the exercise especially, because seriously, that's just amazing.

That was a huge thing, and it's changed my outlook on life as well. I'm far more positive. I don't react to things in a negative way anymore. I'm far more chilled, far more relaxed. Yeah, I get stressed, but it's not a major deal, and I don't react to that stress by comfort eating. I'm also asthmatic, so I'm on a 12-week lockdown at home. I live alone, and I know that pre-Slim Pod, I would have turned to comfort eating, binge-watching the television, and binge-eating. I haven't done any of that, and I know that when the lockdown's over, I'm going to be a far healthier person on the other side. So I certainly wouldn't have had that mindset before SlimPod.

Amazing. Honestly, I'm in awe of you. I just— I work with a lot of nurses, and, you know, we're working— we've worked in 3 hospitals now, and it's just It's such a pleasure to be helping, you know, helping you guys because you're the ones out there that are serving others. And it is— to hear this story especially where you were— I mean, that would— your illness would have severely impacted your work life, wouldn't it? You know, it was—

I never let it stop me working. I've never had a day off sick with that. I know some days when I was coming in through the front door, I could hardly get in through the front door, and the first thing I'd do was go and lie on the bed because I just didn't have energy to stay upright. I never have that anymore.

Never.

Incredible. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

Yes, that's the way I'm feeling.

It's not just a weight loss program, it's a life change program. The support is amazing, and everyone has an off day. I can't say I've had a major off day, but the support is there constantly.

Yeah, and you belong in our private group as well.

Yeah, and you've, you know, I don't post a lot in there because I'm quite an introverted person. Okay. And then when I do post, I encourage others rather than talk about my story. And this is, for me to be able to talk to you like this as well, that's a change.

Fantastic. And just thank you so much because, you know, I want to inspire and give hope to people, especially as we're going through this, you know, this ridiculous time at the moment. And I know so many people are really struggling with just the problems that we've got with this virus. And I honestly think that, you know, I just wanted— when you wrote to me and just told me your story, I was— I just thought, oh gosh, I've got to get this lady on camera. I've got to get this lady on camera so she can just inspire and give hope to people who are in not such a good place about all this stuff. And, you know, the fact that also you're living on your own right now, and you are— and as you said in a previous, in a previous life, you would have been really feeling the effects of the current situation, and now it's a bit different. So what are you doing with your days at the moment? You're obviously exercising.

Yes, so I am working from home and I'm working as an occupational health nurse, so I'm providing a lot of support to people mental health-wise.

Fantastic.

And I'm using my positivity to help them, which is really good.

Amazing.

In the week, I get up, I feed the cat, and then I exercise. Then I do work all day. In my lunch break, I exercise. And then I exercise in the evening again. I do go down to have a walk to see my mother, who's in the high-risk group, so I'm going to see her in the evenings as well. I'm doing a lot of self-awareness as well.

Mindfulness is amazing at this point, actually.

It's really, really helpful, and also the SlimPod community that you've Charlotte Roycroft-Davis, I'm dipping in and out of that all day. Yeah. And they're a really good group, the support is amazing there. Yeah. You feel as if you're surrounded by friends, so even though I'm alone here, I'm not alone.

Yeah.

It's amazing.

Yeah, fantastic. Well, thank you so much. Honestly, it's been absolutely fabulous speaking to you, and I know that you're your story will really give hope and inspire and just make an awful lot of people feel a lot better. And that's what I wanted to achieve. So thanks so much, Julie. It's been lovely, lovely talking to you.

Thank you for SlimPod.

Oh, you're very welcome.

Okay, thank you.