This Thursday, SuperFastDiet member Lee was featured in ‘That’s Life!’, in print. Here’s what That’s Life had to say…
In pain due to her weight, Lee transformed herself inside and out
Bending down, I tried to tie my shoelaces, but being so big, it was impossible. Obesity had given me bursitis – painful inflammation in my leg. ‘The best cure is losing weight,’ my GP said. But I found that was easier said than done. I’d been a slim child and, after leaving school, playing competition softball six days a week had kept my weight down. But once I’d started work as a checkout operator at my local Kmart, aged 26, sport took a back seat.
After being promoted to store operations manager, I began working up to 12 hours a day. Coming home late, I’d flop in front of the TV and eat junk food, causing kilos to pile on. I’d try all sorts of diets and, while weight would come off, I’d always put it back on, plus more. For years I’d relied on convenience foods such as fried chicken and hot chips for lunch. I’d snack on a big bag of chips on my commute home, and dinner would often be pie with mash followed by a couple of Zooper Dooper ice blocks.
With my 60th birthday approaching, I was a size 24 and weighed nearly 128 kilos.
Looking in the mirror, tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t find nice clothes to fit and, in agony from carrying around so much weight, I could no longer tie my shoelaces. What have I let myself become? I cried. In May 2022, soon after my birthday, I came across SuperFastDiet, who were doing a free five-day weight-loss challenge. I’ve got nothing to lose, I thought, signing up at their website. The challenge was simple. For three days, you ate 1000 calories a day, then 2000 for another two, which is the average woman’s daily intake.
Following their meal plan, I changed my eating habits radically. On lower calorie days, I’d have a piece of wholemeal toast with banana and peanut butter in the morning, a chicken salad for lunch, and fish and vegies for dinner. In between, I’d snack on carrots, beef jerky, a boiled egg, nuts or fruit. And dessert was a low-calorie ice cream. I also started drinking up to three litres of water a day, which helped keep me feeling full. I found the plan easy as, on the higher calorie days, I could eat what I liked as long as I was within my daily limit.
In five days, I felt so much lighter.
It spurred me on to keep going and I joined their 3:4 program. Much like the challenge I’d completed, it encouraged people to eat 1000 calories three days a week, and 2000 calories the other four, until they reached their goal weight. You’ve done this before, you can do it again, I reminded myself, vowing to stay on track. But I knew that losing weight was only part of the battle. I had to be in the right frame of mind to maintain it. So I signed up for phone coaching. I was partnered with Kristen, who’d lost 15 kilos herself on the program. ‘You don’t lose the weight, you gift it,’ she told me on our weekly chats. ‘Losing something implies you want it back, but when you gift something, you don’t!’ ‘That’s true,’ I laughed.
Credit: Lisa Thompson Photographer
She also encouraged me to do 16:8 intermittent fasting every day.
It meant I’d fast for 16 hours and only eat within an eight-hour window each day, stopping me scoffing things down before bed. Agreeing to give it a go, my first meal would be at 12.30pm when I’d have a tuna or salmon salad for lunch. I’d bake chicken in my air fryer, which cuts down on oil, and have it with vegies for dinner. Or I’d cook pumpkin in it to create my favourite dish – feta, pumpkin, baby beetroot and spinach salad. I’d snack on carrot sticks, boiled eggs, strawberries and blueberries, finishing eating by 8.30pm. And I’d weigh everything before I cooked it, soon discovering my large portions of steak before starting the plan were double the palm-size they should have been!
On non-fasting days I’d have bigger portions and enjoy treats, such as a small pack of cheese and onion chips. I also walked around the shopping centre every lunch time, and at night did online dance workouts, aiming for 15,000 steps a day. Joining the community’s online program, I loved the tips and support I received from the other members.
Credit: Lisa Thompson Photographer
Within 12 months, my dress size dropped from 26 to a size 12, and my weight plummeted from 127.7 kilos to 74 kilos – a loss of 53.7 kilos.
Some friends didn’t even recognise me. ‘I would have walked past you!’ they said. I never imagined I could feel so good and sexy in my 60s. Not only do I like the person I now see in the mirror, but I can buy clothes straight off the rack, my bursitis has vanished – and I can do up my shoelaces again! Being slim feels like a miracle. Simple swaps, like eating within an eight-hour window, walking and airfrying, made such a difference to my efforts. By sorting my mindset, my body followed, and I couldn’t be happier.
As told to Eva Lewicki
See the article in ‘That’s Life!’ Magazine out now.
For even more information, incredible recipes, meal plans and support join the SuperFastDiet program today!
