A 50-year-old woman explains how she lost three stone in just three months

Weight loss can be a difficult thing to achieve, but in the case of Nikki Ward, 50, she knew something had to change.

She knew she had to change her habits when the thought of being photographed at her best friend’s wedding intimidated her.

Nikkie spoke to Express.co.uk about her struggles with her weight, particularly when she went through menopause.

Feeling frustrated by her weight gain, she began a weight loss journey fueled by healthy foods and exercise.

After a few months into her journey, the 50-year-old lost an impressive three stone. Reflecting on her heaviest time, Nikki said: “I had tried everything to stabilize my weight and be happy with myself, but nothing worked and I started to lose my confidence.

“On top of that, I started experiencing menopausal symptoms and I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was a big contributing factor to my weight gain.

“I was at my best when I was approaching my 50th birthday and I didn’t want another big occasion to be ruined by avoiding the cameras, refusing to get involved or not liking it when I saw photographs.

“I beat myself up constantly and lacked confidence about how I looked. I had gone from being happy and outgoing to finding reasons not to socialize with even my closest friends.”

Nikki was asked to be her friend’s maid of honor, but was consumed by what she would look like in the wedding photos. Knowing she had to change her ways, Nikki looked at The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan.

She said: “I was paired with my consultant, Deborah, and she immediately booked me in for a call. The initial call gave me the confidence boost I needed, so I decided to stick with the plan and I’ve never looked back back.”

Cambridge Weight Plan’s 1:1 diet is tailored specifically to the individual, designed with the help of a consultant. The diet focuses on calorie control to help speed up weight loss.

It includes a strict regimen, starting with a 12-week very low-calorie diet consisting of meal replacements. In addition to the selected plan, enrollees receive the assistance of a dietary consultant to provide one-on-one support throughout the plan.

At 1:1, a person will significantly reduce calories, and meals will be replaced with calorie-controlled products. The total daily calorie intake increases gradually throughout the different stages of the plan.

She dedicated herself to the plan while trying to navigate the summer events, maintaining her new habits. After just two months of doing the plan, Nikki lost two stone.

Nikki said: “We decided to book the trip of a lifetime to the Maldives to celebrate my 50th birthday. This was another motivation for me to go ahead with the plan as I wanted to look and feel great in my holiday wardrobe.

“By the time we left for the airport, I had lost almost three stone and gained a fabulous new wardrobe, including some beautiful bikinis that I would never have worn before I went as planned. I made the memories more amazing, and even better, I got the pictures to keep them alive forever.”

When it came time for her friend’s wedding, Nikki didn’t worry about being caught on camera.

“When I got the final fitting for my bridesmaid dress, I was so happy to find out that it was too big, I had to exchange it for a size smaller and I even took it twice,” she said. say “I felt like a million bucks and I’m happy to look back on the day knowing that I looked and felt like the best version of myself.”

To help maintain her weight loss, Nikki explained that she follows more or less the same meal plan she used at the beginning of her journey, but isn’t as strict if she goes out with friends and on the weekends.

Nikki explained: “When I first started I was very strict – no alcohol and nothing passed my lips other than a 1:1 product, vegetables or lean protein. I would even bring my own food to social gatherings with friends so as not to affect my weight loss.

“Now I enjoy a night out, make sensible menu choices where I can, limit alcohol and get back online the next day – it’s all about balance. My whole mindset has changed and while I enjoy ‘a strange delight, I won’t allow myself to lose control of what I eat and drink because I know how good losing weight has made me feel.’

Nutritionists at BBC Good Food shared their views on the Cambridge Diet, writing: “Strict calorie restriction can lead to rapid weight loss, but it can carry a risk of nutrient deficiencies and lead to other less desirable outcomes, such as now constipation, headaches and dizziness.The number of calories consumed on this diet is close to starvation levels, so it is likely to deplete energy levels and deplete the immune system.

“Also, it’s incredibly boring to be so restrictive in the foods you eat, which makes it quite unsustainable in the long term and can negatively affect your relationship with food, your social life and your mental well-being. There’s a high risk of people regaining weight once they return to a normal eating pattern, which can really undermine self-esteem.”