Kettering woman wins award after losing almost half her body weight

Shannen Roan, 23, became Cambridge Weight Plan’s Under 25 Slimmer of the Year winner 2016/17 after shedding eight stone and several dress sizes through the Corby company’s weight loss programme.

Now single mum Shannen says she has a new-found confidence in her slimmer figure and has become an accredited CWP consultant, advising others on how to lose weight.

She said: “When I first started on Cambridge Weight Plan, I weighed 17st 9lbs and took a dress size 20.

“I couldn’t even wear jeans.”

The trigger for Shannen to lose weight came when she was walking past a shop window in Kettering with her baby son, George, who recently turned two.

She added: “I didn’t even recognise the person looking back at me from the shop window.

“I looked so unhealthy and pale.

“I thought ‘what is that?’ and I didn’t know I was looking back at me.”

Shannen signed up with a CWP consultant just before George’s first birthday last year and in six months lost a whopping six stone and five pounds.

She was spending £70 a week on takeaways and found the slimming programme to be cheaper as well as healthier.

She said: “I thought it was all just strawberry, vanilla or chocolate shakes.

“I didn’t realise I would be eating proper meals and bars, which made it very easy to follow.

“Being a single mum, I didn’t know if I’d be able to afford doing CWP long-term, but I worked out I was spending £70 a week on takeaways and McDonald’s.

“I actually saved £30 a week on CWP, let alone losing weight as well.

“I had been so depressed about my size but now I feel like a completely new person and have self-respect for myself.

“Winning slimmer of the year was the happiest day of my life.”

As part of her prize Shannen and her mum, Amanda, were whisked off on a week-long Caribbean cruise, where she snorkelled and swam with turtles.

She added: “It was an amazing experience and I have the absolute confidence now to do things like that.”