Lydia Collins, 40, from Solihull was so out of breath on a family holiday she feared for her health
A mum has revealed how she shed 7st and now saves £300 each month in the process. Lydia Collins, 40, lost the weight with Slimming World after fearing she was suffering a heart attack while on holiday and the busy mum credits healthy recipe boxes as the key to maintaining her progress while managing two jobs.
She explained she’d been dissatisfied with her weight for as long as she could recall, but it wasn’t until a family break in Wales that she decided action was needed: “My weight was always something that played on my mind, however as I got older it started to spiral. I was going out with my friends more and found myself relying on takeaways and convenience foods even more.”
Despite Lydia, from Solihull, attempting various diets previously, none felt sustainable.
She said: “I’d tried every diet going – from calorie counting to fasting to soup diets. They all felt so restrictive, though, and I struggled to stick to any of them for more than a couple of days.
“It wasn’t until the holiday in Wales in 2017 when reality kicked in. After a day at the beach, we were walking back to our holiday home and I found myself so out of breath that I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
“I insisted that everyone carried on without me and I ended up crawling on the grass for the final stretch. What should have been a short walk took me 45 minutes. I was so embarrassed and worried about my health that I knew I needed to do something.” After chatting to a friend who had recently joined Slimming World and was already noticing results, Lydia decided to give it a go herself, starting out at 18st 4.5lbs and a dress size 24.
She said: “I was so nervous that first night that it took me several attempts to walk through the doors. I’d become so used to walking into rooms with people staring at me or judging me that I expected the same thing to happen now. I couldn’t have been more wrong, though. Everyone was so welcoming that it made me believe I could do it this time.”
With the backing of her consultant, Claire, Lydia threw herself wholeheartedly into Slimming World’s Food Optimising healthy eating plan. She now weighs 11st 4.5lbs and is a dress size 10 – a figure she has maintained for the past six years.
She said: “I used to skip breakfast completely, which meant I’d end up snacking all the way through to lunchtime. Claire helped me recognise my ‘danger zones’ and she showed me how planning my meals could help keep me on track. Now, I prep my breakfast the night before, and for lunch I make sure I have something filling like egg muffins or an omelette.
“I no longer rely on grabbing something on the go as an excuse because I was too tired or busy to cook. These days, I make almost everything from scratch and we love ordering from Slimming World’s recipe box service, Slimming World Kitchen.”
Ordering from Slimming World Kitchen has entirely transformed the way Lydia shops, cooks and eats.
She said: “There are so many recipes to choose from each week, and now dinner time has become far more exciting as the whole family gets involved with selecting the meals for the week. Every meal we’ve tried has been amazing and the portions are so generous – and the Garlic Prawn with Baby Hasselback Potatoes and the Mushroom Dhansak Apple Sprinkle have become firm family favourites in our house.”
Lydia became a Slimming World Consultant in 2017 and now supports others in reaching their own weight-loss targets. She runs the Dorridge and Hockley Heath Slimming World groups in Solihull.
She said: “I run several groups during the week, so knowing there’s a box waiting for me when I get home, and that I don’t have to spend hours in the shops or the kitchen in the evenings has been a massive game-changer. It helps that the ingredients are fresh and come measured too – it takes the stress away on those busier days.
“I place my orders in advance, which keeps me on track. I often order them to arrive for the weekend and pick a fakeaway-style meal instead of buying a takeaway. It’s saved me up to £70 a week by making that swap. There are always new recipes being added that I can choose from and extras, like Slimming World pancakes, wraps and naans, which I can pop into my box from the add-on shop – which comes in handy when I don’t have time to go to the shops.
“Joining Slimming World was the best decision. I’m healthier and fitter than I’ve ever been. And I love that I’m showing my children a healthier way of life, too. I no longer get out of breath walking short distances or struggle with ankle pain that would affect me every day. Lilly and Max now enjoy cooking too and thanks to Slimming World Kitchen they’re learning how delicious, nutritious, home-cooked food can be.”
Lydia’s diet before
Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch: Shop-bought pork pies or meal deal
Dinner: Freezer food or Indian or Chinese takeaway
Snacks: A couple of packs of crisps, fizzy drink, biscuits
Lydia’s diet now
Breakfast: Overnight oats, fresh fruit with fat-free Greek yoghurt or an omelette
Lunch: Jacket potato with beans and cheese, homemade soup or leftover Slimming World Kitchen meal
Dinner: Diet cola chicken, slow-cooker chilli or Slimming World Kitchen meal, like ‘In a Jiffy Prawn Jalfresi’
Snacks: Homemade houmous and crudités, crustless quiche or scotch eggs
Lydia’s favourite recipes
Gyros-style chicken and potato salad
Serves 4
Ready in 40 minutes
900g baby potatoes
600g skinless and boneless chicken thighs
1-cal cooking spray
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 chicken stock cube
1 cucumber
A handful of fresh mint
240g fat-free Greek yoghurt
2 little gem lettuces
200g baby tomatoes
Pickled onions, to serve (see tip)
Heat your oven to 220 ̊C/fan 200 ̊C/gas 7
Quarter the potatoes. On a different board, remove any visible fat from the chicken. Place the potatoes and chicken into an ovenproof dish. Season lightly, then sprinkle over the cumin, paprika and oregano and spritz with the cooking spray.
Crumble in the stock, pour in 250ml boiled water and mix thoroughly. Bake for 25-30 mins, until the chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, dice the cucumber into 1cm chunks, and finely chop the mint leaves. Combine the cucumber and mint into the yoghurt. Trim and thinly slice the lettuce, and quarter the tomatoes. Drain the pickled onions. Use 2 forks to shred the chicken in the dish.
Divide the potatoes between plates. Top with the salad and chicken, then add dollops of tzatziki and scatter over the pickled onions.
Greek keftedes with oregano wedges and tzatziki
Serves 4
Ready in 35 minutes
1kg potatoes
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 handfuls of fresh mint
3 garlic cloves
500g pork mince (5% fat or less)
1 unwaxed lemon
1-cal cooking spray
2 peppers
400g baby tomatoes
1 onion
1 cucumber
240g fat-free Greek yoghurt
Heat your oven to 220 ̊C/fan 200 ̊C/gas 7/air fryer 200 ̊C
Cut the potatoes into wedges and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper (or into the air-fryer basket). Spritz with the cooking spray, scatter over half the oregano and season lightly, then roast for 25-30 mins (or air-fry for 18-20 mins). Meanwhile, finely chop the mint leaves and peel and grate the garlic. In a bowl, combine the remaining oregano, half the mint and half the garlic with the mince. Grate in the lemon zest, season lightly and mix thoroughly. Using your hands, roll the mixture into 5 equal-sized meatballs per person.
Spritz a large frying pan with cooking spray and place over a medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs for 6-8 mins, until nicely browned all over. Pour in 200ml water and simmer for 4-5 mins, until the water has nearly evaporated and the meatballs are cooked through, then set aside and keep warm.
At the same time, deseed and finely dice the peppers. Halve the tomatoes. Peel and thinly slice the onion. Halve the cucumber and dice one half.
In a mixing bowl, toss together the peppers, tomatoes, onion and diced cucumber and stir well. Grate the remaining cucumber into a separate bowl. Halve the lemon and cut one half into wedges.
Stir the remaining mint and garlic into the grated cucumber, squeeze in the juice from the lemon half to taste, then fold in the yoghurt. Season lightly and mix well. Divide the salad and wedges between plates, add a generous spoonful of tzatziki and finish with the meatballs and lemon wedges.
