Slim down set in train by tragedy

Looking at trim Sara-Jayne Forman today it is hard to imagine her weighing more than 18 stone and coming in at a size 20.

But just 15 months ago that was exactly how the 26-year-old from Pontefract looked.

Sara, now a svelt size ten and weighing 10st 3lb, decided to tackle her weight after her mother died of cancer.

“I had joined Weight Watchers a while ago as I wanted to sort my life out and lost 18lb, but then mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I just needed to concentrate on her and ended up piling the weight back on.

“Loosing weight just didn’t seem like the most important thing any more. ”

It was after her mother passed away nine months later that Sara decided to take some action.

“Up until she was ill mum was one of the healthiest people. She ate all the right foods, didn’t smoke or drink and kept fit,” explains Sara.

“When she died I decided that the time was right to sort myself out and really get my weight under control.”

At school Sara had always been really sporty and into dance. She could eat what she wanted because she was doing so much exercise, as a result she was a really slim child.

But when she left school and starting working she started to pile on the weight.

“When I was 19 I went to live with my dad and his portion sizes were much bigger than I was used to but then you just get used to them,” says Sara.

“Then when he was away I couldn’t be bothered to cook and so I’d get a takeaway. I was eating four or five take-aways a week and the weight gradually built up.

“I was also not getting any exercise. I would take taxis everywhere. I only worked a 10 minute walk from home but I would get a taxi to and from work everyday.”

As a result her weight ballooned until she came it at 18st 6lb.

“I would always wear baggy, over-sized clothes and make sure that no one saw me going into the clothes shops such as Evans and then I would hide the bags.”

After her mother died she joined Sarah Nicholl’s Weight Watchers in Pontefract and was determined that this time she would stick to it.

“My auntie had lost a lot of weight along time ago with Weight Watchers and she recommended it to me.

“It has become a complete lifestyle change for me. As well as eating a healthy diet I now walk to work and back and have a stepper machine at home which I use three times a week for 30 minutes a time.”

When Emmerdale and Holby City actress and face of Weight Watchers, Patsy Kensit, dropped in at the Pontefract meeting Sara had the chance to meet her.

“I didn’t know that she had lost both her parents and also struggled with her weight. In that respect we had things in common. She was a real inspiration to me.”

Patsy was also impressed with what Sara has managed to achieve.

“Sara’s story really touched me. She’s had an incredible journey, losing more than 8st, but doesn’t look as if she’s ever been anything but a size 10,” said Patsy.

“She is so strong and has shown that with a bit of determination you can achieve anything you put your mind to.”

Now Sara is set to appear on the cover of Weight Watchers magazine in May.

“I love magazines and I can’t believe that I am now on the cover of one. I can hardly believe it.

“I am so glad they have chosen to highlight my story as I want to be an inspiration to other people.”

And she is determined that she will keep the weight off.

“I feel so much better. I love walking to work. When I first started I really struggled and I would arrive at work out of breathe, but now I feel I could run there.

“The beauty of Weight Watchers is that it is so easy to follow and so easy to sustain. It is a complete lifestyle change but nothing is banned you just have to plan for it. I do still have the odd takeaway and so long as I plan for it then that’s fine. I think my mum would be really proud of what I have achieved .”

“Sara inspires everyone she meets and we are all so proud of her,” says Sarah Nicholls.

“Sara has had to go through such a lot at such a young age – and I know that her mum would be so incredibly proud of what she has achieved.

www.weightwatchers.co.uk

Doctor puts the blame on sugar

Sugar is the real villain in the obesity epidemic, and not fat as people used to think, according to a leading US doctor who is taking on governments and the food industry.

Dr Robert Lustig likens sugar to controlled drugs. Cocaine and heroin are deadly because they are addictive and toxic – and so is sugar, he says.

Lustig’s book, Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar has made waves in America and has now been published in the UK by 4th Estate.

As a paediatrician who specialises in treating overweight children in San Francisco, he has spent 16 years studying the effects of sugar on the central nervous system, metabolism and disease.

His conclusion is that the rivers of Coca-Cola and Pepsi consumed by young people today have as much to do with obesity as the mountains of burgers.