I first joined Unislim at the end of August 2020. I was reading a lot about negative Covid-19 outcomes for people who are overweight and so I was worried about my health and decided to do something about my weight. I have two boys, now aged five and six, and had gained weight after each pregnancy. Then my very dear father passed away unexpectedly in August 2019, and I was devastated; there was a lot of emotional eating around that. Because we have two young children, I wanted to lose the weight to ensure I was healthy, and had the energy to play with them and look after them with my husband.
Before joining Unislim, life was very busy and it still is. I work full time and am studying for my HDip, and the boys both started primary school in August. I didn’t have a huge amount of energy.
I’m loving Unislim online, the UniZoom classes, online hub and their Balance plan are superb – I’ve never come across anything like this in the past. The plan is so sustainable and focusses on rewarding healthy eating and exercise so that these become natural choices for you. The plan is very clear on portion sizes and getting the balance right at every meal. This isn’t a diet – it’s something you build into your everyday routine, and it works.
I think being at home over lockdown actually provided that opportunity for me to feel more in control – when you’re in your own home, in your own space, you have control over your menu, your food; there haven’t been any of the social events like christenings, weddings, communions…. So it was a perfect time for me to lose the weight.
The biggest challenge for me was just building that mindset at the start. All of my losses were one or two pounds each week. When you feel you have a few stone to lose, and you’re working quite hard and losing one or two pounds… You might think joining a weight loss plan that you should lose half a stone in the first week, but that’s not sustainable. So I think getting my head around accepting and embracing the one or two pound losses each week was the biggest Eureka moment for me – that it was actually going to work. If you’re losing two pounds a week, you’re going to lose eight pounds in a month, and that’s incredible weight loss.
My advice to others considering joining Unislim Online is to not even think twice – just go for it. You have nothing to lose except for those unwanted pounds. There’s so much support there from the leaders and the community. I had exceptional support from my own leader, Loraine. The app is great too. With the UniZoom classes, you can fit it in your day – there’s no setting aside an hour or two hours to go to the class, and you weigh in at home. It’s so workable. A physical class wouldn’t have suited my lifestyle, so having the online classes absolutely worked for me. There are cooking demos and exercise classes available to members online, too, and they’re fab, and short, so if you only have 15 minutes in your day, it’s possible to fit in that exercise. And who doesn’t have 15 minutes?
I’m totally transformed now. I’ve dropped at least three dress sizes and have a normal BMI for the first time in my life. I have a lot more energy. Before, I used to get bursts of energy and then I’d be very tired, but now I have energy throughout the day. I’m a lot more active too and feel more confident. This summer, I’m looking forward to just enjoying every day, going out for walks with my family and playing with the kids. It’s a new way of life.
