Giving up alcohol helped me lose over three stone
With many people taking part in ‘Dry January’, Brenda took this one step further last year and gave up the booze for good.
In December 2023, Brenda McGlone knew that something had to give. Her weight had hit an all time high. She swapped nights in with a bottle of wine for long walks out fuelled by a much healthier menu.
A typical evening for Brenda would be settling on the settee and opening a bottle of wine. The problem was that one glass of wine led to another… and another… until the bottle was gone, more often than not, this led to her picking at unhealthy snacks like bags of sweets, causing her weight to spiral even further.
Brenda says that her health had been going downhill for years, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol all on her list of problems. She shares that she was also getting to the point that walking was becoming painful with the extra pressure on her knees.
In January 2024, Brenda decided to join her local Slimming World Group in Kettering. Having been a member previously, she knew that Food Optimising worked alongside that all important group support, but back then had lacked the commitment to change and didn’t follow the plan. This time felt different – “before I had a chance to talk myself out of it, I stepped out of the door and towards a better future. This was January 2024 and I’ve never looked back!” shares Brenda.
“While cutting out drinking was a massive positive, it wasn’t without its challenges. Taking away something that I’d relied on so heavily for a long time left a big hole. This needed to be filled – and not with unhealthy food! I reasoned that exercise would be the best way to keep myself occupied, and the Body Magic activity support programme at Slimming World really encouraged me to do this, I love walking and have recently started ‘couch to 5K’ . I now feel so much fitter than I was and walking upstairs without getting out of breath halfway up is a great feeling too!” says Brenda.
“My old unhealthy meals were ditched for tasty chicken and jasmine rice or a spaghetti bolognese packed with plenty of veg. I’d then box up the leftovers to have for lunch (to replace my usual takeaway meal deal or baguette). If I became hungry between meals at work, I’d munch on grapes or pickles, which quickly became my snacks of choice.” Brenda adds.
The Slimming World programme has been designed to help members navigate towards healthier choices. While Food Optimising (Slimming World’s generous healthy eating plan), low energy dense foods like fruit and vegetables, pasta, potatoes, pulses, lean meat, poultry and fish are recognised as ‘safe’ for weight loss and so can be eaten freely without counting, alcohol products (like other high energy dense foods and drinks that can be a danger to weight loss) are controlled and given a numerical ‘Syn’ value, with members encouraged to stay within a daily total limit of Syns. Because alcohol contains Syns, it is controlled, and this helps members to stay within the recommended limits set by the NHS. This structure also helps members to navigate towards a healthier lifestyle, while raising members’ awareness to the greater risk which alcohol (as well as high calorie foods like crisps, chocolate, pastries or biscuits) poses to their weight management when consumed to excess.
“After just 2 weeks, following the Slimming World plan, I had lost over half a stone, by week 7, I had lost 1 stone. This gave me the motivation to stick to my guns and stay away from the ‘evil wine witch’. I was feeling so much better and my sleep had improved too.” Brenda shares.By October 2024, Brenda had reached her dream target weight, after losing 3 stone and says she has never felt better.
Brenda states that one of her biggest victories is giving up alcohol. The old Brenda could easily drink a bottle of wine a night, while the new Brenda would rather have a cup of coffee, sugar free squash or alcohol free wine.
Slimming World Consultant, Angela Markie adds “I could not be prouder of Brenda, the changes that she has made over the last year have been inspirational” She added: “My groups are friendly and welcoming, you can find us at Balance Gym, Thurston Drive, Kettering at 4pm, 5.30pm & 7pm and Friday at 8am and 9.30am and on a Thursday at St Andrew’s Church, Crown Street, Kettering at 5.30pm & 7pm.”
Members report that they start making healthy changes to their drinking habits soon after joining Slimming World – they report a decrease in the units of alcohol they are drinking in the first four weeks of joining and 90% of Slimming World members say that ‘counting’ alcohol as Syns has enabled them to make healthier choices and 86% say they drink less alcohol after joining Slimming World, and consumption continues to decrease in the course of their membership (Slimming World’s Health & Wellbeing study). Member Kelly agrees “I returned to Slimming World just before Christmas 2024 and decided that one of the things I needed to do was cut back on my alcohol intake because I wasn’t sleeping very well, my fibromyalgia was worse and it was preventing me seeing the weight loss I Was looking for at my weekly Slimming World meetings. I have gone from having wine most nights to just two glasses in the last 3 weeks. It has made such a difference to my sleep, mood, pain levels and weight loss. I feel so much better about cutting back.”
If there’s a weight loss challenge that you’re struggling with, there’s no need to ever struggle alone. Like Brenda and Kelly, you’ll find yourself surrounded by support at your local Slimming World Group.
For more information, contact Angela on 07727 009759. You might also be eligible for 12 weeks free, with our referral scheme in conjunction with North Northamptonshire Council.