A mum-of-three has managed to ditch her habit of drinking 15 cups of sugary coffee a day and has gone on to lose more than seven and a half stone.
Lorraine O’Loughlin, from Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, dropped seven dress sizes when she decided to slim down after falling into a deep depression and rarely leaving the house.
The 28–year-old said she found herself stuck in a rut – skipping meals in the day and then bingeing on crisps and chocolate through the night.
Because the insomnia sufferer was up all night she would rely on an average of 15 cups of coffee to keep her going throughout the day – each one with three sugars.
O’Loughlin said: “I was relying on coffee so badly, it was what kept me functioning all day and I basically lived on it.
“I don’t miss it at all now though – I’m now eating healthily and getting a good night’s sleep so my body no longer needs to caffeine to function.
“Everything’s different now I’ve lost the weight, I was so shy beforehand and never even wanted to leave the house.
“I’d always make up excuses to my kids as to why we couldn’t go out and play but now we’re down the park all of the time.”
Before she lost weight, O’Loughlin would have a coffee with three sugars for breakfast, a bag of crisps with another sugar-filled coffee for lunch and nothing for dinner.
She would snack throughout the day on bags of crisps, packets of biscuits, fried eggs and more coffee.
O’Loughlin now limits herself to only four cups of coffee a day and has switched out the sugar for sweetener.
The stay-at-home mum said she had struggled with her weight since her teens. She said she wanted to make a healthier lifestyle change but then had children and it spiralled out of control.
After having daughters Isabella, seven, and five-year-old twins Molly and Emily with husband Damian, 51, she said weight loss was put to the bottom of the pile as she was too busy to change her ways.
But since joining Slimming World in April 2015, O’Loughlin went from weighing 19st to 11st 7lbs – dropping from a size 24 to a size 10 to 12.
After years of making excuses about her weight and hiding from mirrors, she said it was her children who finally spurred her on and gave her the motivation to lose the weight.
She said: “I was running out of excuses to tell my children about why we couldn’t go outside or ever do anything fun.
“They really helped me with the whole weight loss journey and they’re so proud, they always ask me how my Slimming World sessions are going.
“They like to keep up with how much weight I’ve lost and always ask if I’ve got another certificate, they’re amazing about it all.”
Now she eats fresh fruit salad and yoghurt for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch and a Slimming World meal such as lasagne or jacket potato with vegetables.
She snacks on fruit and yoghurt throughout the day.
“Before losing the weight I didn’t want anyone to see me or even look at me,” she said.
“My confidence now is just amazing – my whole family have noticed a massive difference in me.”
