Written by Sarah, who lost over 43.7kg^ on her LifeShape Program

“I have always struggled with being overweight throughout my life and have always been obese, I was always the fat kid at school. I weighed in at 65 kilos when I was just 9 years old. Growing up, I wasn’t someone who had a lot of guidance when it came to food education and regular exercise and I literally ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I used food as a crutch and it became a treat for me when I felt abandoned, guilty or unloved. My upbringing did play a big part in shaping my relationship with food and my self respect. I was always the big girl and I just accepted it, for 27 years of my life.

Things took a turn for the worse when I started to undertake a career in long distance interstate truck driving. Over the past 8 years my weight started to heavily increase, year after year and I just got bigger and bigger, finally weighing in at my heaviest of 127 kilos on a 160cm frame at the age of 27.

I had tried so many attempts to lose weight over the years, some worked for a while and some none at all.  I never lost anything more than 20 kilos, it would be unsustainable and I would then put it all back on again. This was a continuous cycle and it wasn’t maintainable long term.

The breaking point for me was when I continually felt tired, run down and my back was always sore. I was in pain everyday and just wanted to sleep all the time. I remember going on a short mountain hike with my brother and I couldn’t complete the trail, I remember being so ashamed of how bad my health was. I thought if I kept going down this path I was going to die. I was scared at how unfit I was for a 27 year old, so I made an appointment with my doctor for some advice on how I could get my life under control. My doctor had heard of the LifeShape Program and recommended I try it, before taking the lap band or gastric sleeve pathway. I didn’t want to get surgery and was desperate to try any attempt to lose this weight through long term lifestyle changes. I always liked being relatively active and eating good quality food but I just couldn’t find a balance and needed some professional and science backed advice. So, I booked into see my local LifeShape Clinic and had a chat about what was on offer and how the program worked. Three months later, I signed up for a 3 month program and began the journey.

Each week I met with my Dietitian, learnt the value of food (calories in vs calories out) and talked about my relationship and challenges around food. I also learnt a lot about myself and how to understand what my body needed, what it feels like to listen to your hunger cues and how good it feels to move your body. The first few weeks were hard and I did make mistakes, but my Dietitian helped me work through it and we went back to basics and kept consistency. I knew this was going to take time and it wasn’t a quick fix - it took me 27 years to get this way in the first place.  I followed her advice and each week the scales went down, the tape got shorter and I started to feel incredibly motivated and proud of myself.  I was kept accountable in a supportive environment where I could feel vulnerable and be open and honest with no judgement. Throughout the journey I did enjoy all foods – even chocolate cake - and still do, I just eat them less often and when I do eat them, I really enjoy them.

Once I completed the 3 month program I ended up opting for a follow on program with my Dietitian. I felt confident that I could continue on the same plan and continued to lose even more weight by myself.  LifeShape gave me all the resources and tools I needed to lose weight initially – so I just kept following what was set out.  Now I am maintaining my current weight of 65 kilos and if I feel like going back to my old ways, I just go back to what I did on the programme and it works! I feel like I’m in control and have so much education about what goes into my body now, that I know I am never going back to my old ways. It did take me 1 year and 8 months, but it was so worth it.

LifeShape Clinic has honestly saved my life! It has made me feel so grateful to have an incredibly capable, working body, which I want to look after. I finally feel good in my own skin and it has helped me resolve so many negative emotions around my appearance. I can’t recommend the LifeShape Program enough. My only advice to anyone considering doing this programme - is to do it! You will not regret your decision; you deserve to give yourself the gift of a better life. Consistency is key and if you fall off the path, just start again! Love yourself the best you can, be honest with yourself and the time will pass anyway so why not give it a go. The small investment in the programme is worth the lifelong results.

All the best to anyone starting out, you are in good hands with LifeShape. If you put in the work, you will get the results.”

^Your results may vary. To find out what you can achieve on your LifeShape Program book a no obligation initial assessment with one of our Dietitians.