Copyright dailystar
A woman who dropped four stone and eight pounds on a Slimming World programme has shown it's possible to shed weight whilst still enjoying an evening tipple. Following a night out with mates on New Year's Eve 2024, Meadow Harrison from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, awoke on New Year's Day feeling "mortified" after seeing snaps from the festivities. After years of battling self-consciousness and comfort eating to cope with her feelings, Meadow vowed to transform her lifestyle. The 22-year-old office manager had previously attempted various dieting approaches over the years, including calorie tracking, Slimfast, 700-calorie fasting regimes and the James Duncan programme, but none had lasting success. Come the new year, Meadow decided to explore fresh options and picked up a Slimming World magazine. She explained: "When I turned 21 and was at my heaviest, I liked going out and socialising with friends and family. I was getting to a point where I was feeling really insecure about my weight and going out turned into a really negative experience. "On New Year's Eve I went to a party and woke up the next day, looked at the pictures and was mortified. I wanted to do something about it and promised myself on that day I would never ever feel the way that I felt again." Meadow discovered Slimming World magazines lying around her house, as her mum was already following the scheme and had shed a stone and a half, prompting her to devise her own strategy. She gave the Slimming World plan a go solo for a week before attending her first meeting, tipping the scales at 13 stone 7 pounds and squeezing into size 16 clothes. Meadow recalled: "I actually felt really nervous when I walked through the door, but I felt instantly relaxed as soon as I walked in. It was like something had come over me and I felt like this was a door that had been opened for me that's going to completely change my life. "The only way I can describe it is that you're in a room full of people that are showing up for themselves and it's just the most inspiring thing in the world." Throughout her Slimming World experience, Meadow encountered obstacles during difficult periods. She explained: "Before I started my journey I would binge eat through my emotions. I was an emotional eater and there were times where work was stressful or had a bad day, and it took some serious willpower to get around those food cravings that I'd have. "When I was binge eating I wasn't necessarily thinking about what I was eating, I just wanted everything bad for me. One time I'd had a stressful day, eaten lots of chocolate and fell back into old habits. "I realised how bad that made me feel. I was like 'I don't need to feel like this again'. The plan made me feel really good and binge eating never made me feel good. "I'd also keep my head in the game and remind myself of the reason why, I'd always say this is your final destination and you need to get there... this is what you need to do." Following nine months on the Slimming World programme, and without any weight loss injections, Meadow shed four stone and eight pounds to hit her target weight of 9 stone. Meadow, who now fits into a size 8, praised Slimming World for being "flexible" and "kind" unlike previous attempts she'd made. She highlighted that she could still enjoy a beer or glass of wine when she fancied it. She explained: "The plan is so flexible, I can still have a beer at the end of the day when I want to. I can make curries for my friends when they come around for a drink and can still have curry and wine. "It can all be on plan, I'm literally spoiled with food choices so why would I give up and why would I not do it?". Following such dramatic results, Meadow chose to train as a Slimming World consultant and launch her own group at St John's Church Hall in Walmley. The group, which attracted more than 60 members, collectively dropped 90 pounds in just one week. Meadow revealed: "I thought if I bite the bullet and invest, I can help as many people as I want to feel as good as I do. I just want to change as many lives as possible and make as many people feel as good as I do. "I'm 22 now, and I could never see myself joining and had this misconception that it was for the older generation. I was so wrong. "Even when you are with people of different ages, you don't feel like you're the youngest person in the room when you are. You just walk in and everyone is there to lose weight and support each other. These people carry you through your journey." Meadow also documents her slimming transformation on TikTok , regularly uploading clips showcasing her daily meals, recipe suggestions and budget-friendly supermarket finds that are both low-calorie and syn-free. Through her online presence, Meadow encounters numerous comments from critics who argue that Slimming World fosters an "unhealthy relationship with food because they can have an unlimited amount of pasta". Meadow responded: "That's a really common misconception, yes you can eat pasta on the plan but we would never encourage you not to add additional proteins and vegetables to make it healthy. "We actually teach people how to eat balanced meals so they don't over eat." Meadow's favourite Slimming World friendly meals. Breakfast: A slice of brown bread, cheese spread and beans. Lunch: A Slimming World bowl from Iceland as they're great on the go and there's lots of choice. Dinner: Spaghetti Bolognese with lots of cheese (You can lose weight and still eat something that feel like a hug in a bowl). Snack: Fruit dipped in chocolate and a beer.
