“Staying for class made a massive difference for me! I walk every day now and have more energy and I’m thrilled to be able to try on a dress in a shop and know it will look good on me. The hardest part of this journey is just walking through the door. Once you take that step, it gets easier. Just take it one day at a time.”
– Ann Thompson
Back in 2016, my brother got married and I struggled to find a dress for the wedding. I finally found something I thought I looked good in and when the photographs came back, I didn’t like how I looked, the dress I was wearing looked like a tent on me. That’s when I decided I needed to do something. I tried different weight loss programmes but they just didn’t work for me.
A year later, I got word that Unislim was opening a class in Tallaght, so I went straight up and joined on the 28th of June 2017. At the time, I had no idea what my weight was, but I knew I was at my heaviest and when I stepped on the scales that first class, I wouldn’t let my leader tell me what weight I was. I actually went for about three months, with the pounds chipping away, not knowing my starting weight because I just didn’t want to know. I just thought I’d be able to deal with that information more easily once I knew I had started to lose the weight.
At the start, I was flying it because I was staying for class – that makes a massive difference. I then had to hop between a couple of different classes and couldn’t always stay for the class talk so I started to notice my weight loss slowing down. Then Covid came along and stalled everything. When things started to reopen, I learned that Lisa was opening a new class and signed up straight away. I had gained a stone during lockdown so I knew I needed to be back to class. Once I started with Lisa, I could see the pounds chipping away again. The Unislim Balance plan is about getting back to normal eating, it certainly isn’t a diet!
I was due to travel to New York with friends in March 2020, which because of the pandemic it was postponed until November 2022, and I literally reached my 5-stone weight loss mark two days before my flight which I was delighted about. But then, unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for class again and things slowed once more. Lisa had a class in Firhouse on a Saturday morning so I started going there in January 2023. From then on, everything just fell into place. Staying for class just made a massive difference for me, it makes you accountable and I finally got to my target last year.
Sometimes it can take a while for your head to catch up with your body … I still sometimes reach for the bigger clothing sizes but I’m really enjoying being able to try on clothes, whereas before I didn’t have the confidence to bring outfits into the changing rooms and would end up coming home with bags of clothes that didn’t fit me. It’s great to no longer have that panic, worrying I might not be able to get a dress back over my head.
I walk at least 5km every day now and am up and out the door at 7am in the morning and usually do a walk again in the evening. I have so much more energy. The fact that I can get up to go for a walk at seven o’clock just astonishes me. I work full-time in an office, so I’d be sitting all day and I find walking early in the morning and again in the evening balances that out.
I would say to anyone who’s just starting on their journey that the hardest part is just walking through the door. Once you take that step, and you meet your leader and other class members, it gets easier, so just do it. The support that everyone shows is brilliant. When you’ve lost weight, they’re delighted for you and if you’re struggling, they support you and share brilliant advice. If you’re just starting, don’t panic – don’t look to your end goal, just take it each pound or goal at a time.
My best friend is getting married in October. I’m her bridesmaid and we’ve just picked out the dresses. I’m thrilled to be able to try on a dress in a shop that will actually fit me and to know it will look good on me in the pictures this time.
