Sales assistant who piled on the pounds after she started clubbing at 18 is finally the ‘person she was meant to be’ after losing 5st

A 17st 1lb sales assistant who piled on the pounds after she started clubbing and stopped exercising when she turned 18 is finally a happy healthy adult and the person she was “meant to be” after shedding an incredible five stone.

When Kerstin Stewart, now 27, left school and started her first full-time job she revelled in her newfound freedom – and barely noticed that driving everywhere, enjoying boozy nights out with her mates, and never doing any sport was affecting her weight.

Now transformed into a keen swimmer who takes to the pool three times a week, Kerstin, who lives in Paignton, Devon, reached her 12st target weight this summer, celebrating with her favourite ‘fakeaway’ – a Slimming World burger and chips with 5% fat mince – and a spot of paddle boarding.

Kerstin, who is single, said: “When I hit my target, I cried. I couldn’t believe it.

She added: “Life used to seem so dull and black and white. But now, life is more colourful. I feel like I’m more me.”

While Kerstin said she had always been on ‘the bigger side’, it was only when she turned 18 that her weight became a problem.

“I started driving and stopped walking anywhere, and going out at the weekends, and the weight just started piling on.

“I would do the stereotypical drinking all night, then go to the fast-food places  and go home.”

She said: “I used to cook with oil and full fat meat or cream, or use jars of sauces which have lots of sugar and salt.

“My weight was always on my mind, but I knew that deep down, I wasn’t ready to do anything about it yet.”

She said: “I bumped into a friend on Christmas Eve who had lost a lot of weight and told me all about Slimming World.

“January is a bit of a boring month anyway, so I thought: ‘Let’s give it a go. What’s the worst that can happen?'”

She said: “I lost four pounds in my first week and a stone in the first three months.

“It was amazing and gave me that self-belief to know I could do it.

Even Kerstin’s five-week holiday to Australia in March 2018 didn’t hold her back.

She said: “I didn’t restrict myself on holiday, I enjoyed myself. But as soon as I got back, I went back on the plan and lost all the holiday weight within a week or two.”

“It was more about the way I was cooking than what I was eating,” she said of her weight loss.

“So I swapped oil to Frylight, which is a lighter cooking oil alternative, and changed my full fat meat to lean meat, and cut off the fat.

And Kerstin could still enjoy weekends with friends.

She said: “I drank spirits instead of cider, and exchanged the fast-food with Iceland Slimming World frozen microwave meals.

Lockdown helped Kerstin slim further.

She said: “Everything was cancelled, so I was in full control of what I was eating.

And, in December, 2020, she started going regularly to her local pool.

“I started swimming with my sister every week and realised how much I enjoyed it.

Kerstin even challenged herself to a charity swim from March to June this year.

She said: “I signed up the Diabetes UK challenge to swim 22 miles in 12 weeks and it was amazing.”

“When my consultant said I had hit my target, I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

“I had been dreaming about that day for such a long time.

Filled with new confidence, Kerstin has got stuck into new activities.

“I tried paddle-boarding this summer in Torbay with family and it was so much fun,” she said.

And Kerstin hopes she can encourage others too, saying: “I have been on the bigger side for as long as I can remember and I never imagined I could be here.

“As cheesy as it sounds, if I can do it, then anyone can do it.”

KERSTIN’S DIET BEFORE

Breakfast: Toast spread with butter and jam (ranging from 2-8 slices)

Lunch: Sandwich with shop-bought sandwich filler, crisps and chocolate biscuit

Dinner: Pasta with a jar of pasta sauce, garlic bread

Snacks: Chocolate, crisps

Drinks: Full sugar fizzy pop and squash, cider

KERSTIN’S DIET AFTER

Breakfast: Sausage and egg wrap

Lunch: Jacket potato or pasta with salad or leftovers from dinner the night before

Dinner: Fakeaways: Burger and Slimming World chips, homemade thin base pizza, curry made from scratch or one pot wonders like Slimming World’s vegetable jambalaya

Snacks: High fibre bars, low fat crisps, low calorie popcorn, ham, lean chicken, boiled eggs, fat free yogurt, sugar free ice lollies

Drinks: Water, sugar free drinks, vodka and slimline tonic

For more information, visit slimmingworld.co.uk.