Mum and daughter duo, Karen and Anna-Louise Walters, joined forces in a mission to lose weight and are now celebrating winning our coveted In It Together title.
The pair, who are so close they often say the same thing simultaneously, used to self-sabotage previous attempts to lose weight. But, thanks to The 1:1 Diet and the one-to-one support of their Consultant, Nelle Doe, they have lost a combined 18 stone between each other.
“We both got to a point where enough was enough,” said Karen, 58. “I was morbidly obese – even that expression sounds terrifying – and had a BMI of 54. I wanted to purchase a mobility scooter, as I couldn’t stand up to wait for the coffee machine to finish.
“At 57, I found myself divorced, morbidly obese, and almost immobile.”
Anna-Louise had moved in with her mum in 2020 after she was bullied out of her job in London because of her size.
“Mum was still struggling with the devastation of her divorce and blamed her weight,” said Anna-Louise, 28. “Together, we isolated ourselves from friends and family and used our lockdown bubble as a secret eater’s haven. We pretended it was okay, but our confidence was at an all-time low and our weight the highest it had ever been.”
Before going on Plan, Karen weighed 24 stone one pound and was a size 26, while Anna-Louise had reached 18 stone two pounds on the scales and was a size 18.
Anna-Louise’s health was also suffering because of her size but she pretended everything was OK.
“I hid mum’s walking stick because I didn’t want her to need that sort of crutch. We were chronically miserable, drinking more and our mental health was in a very low place but we were too afraid to do anything about it and fail again. We’d tried every diet going but had never made it past week three with any of them.
“I put on two stone in a year. I was miserable and rock bottom was firmly hit when nothing else fit me comfortably except my size 18 lockdown tracksuit and jumper. My skin was terrible, I was sleeping badly, I couldn’t move around like a normal 27-year-old should.
“My ‘enough is enough’ moment came when I was at the park drinking with friends. I bent a chair leg as I sat down and fell on the floor making a scene, absolutely mortified. The first person I texted was my mum, as I knew she’d understand.”
Karen added: “We’re very close, even by mother and daughter standards. Whatever we do, it is more impactful when we do it together . . . good or bad!
“We’d sabotaged ourselves constantly because we didn’t have any respect for our health and bodies. We always had a choice to either be the best or worst influences on each other.”
“I said to Anna-Louise, ‘we need to get our sparkle back, what can we do?’”
Anna-Louise researched diet plans knowing surgery was a route being seriously considered by Karen. She found The 1:1 Diet and found Consultant, Nelle.
“We spoke for a long while and Nelle devised the right plan that was all in place by the time mum got home,” said Anna-Louise. “Recognising our desperation, she came straight over on Mothering Sunday, took ‘before’ photos and we started the
next morning with our reasons why at the forefront.”
From day one, the duo committed and results showed immediately with them both losing a stone in the first week.
“Our mood changed, skin brightened, we slept better and everything started to look more optimistic,” said Karen. “Nelle was always there for advice and support, day in and out. We held each other accountable for our progress, building an even stronger bond. It was the best thing we’d ever done together.”
“We chose to be facilitators rather than saboteurs and, once we truly started to believe in ourselves and found more of our sparkle, the Plan became a new way of life and we loved everything about it,” said Anna-Louise.
Week by week, the pair noticed visible changes as well as the lowering numbers on the scales.
“I could walk without becoming breathless and my back no longer hurt,” said Karen. “Two months into the Plan, Virgin Wine called - he’d lost one of his best customers and wanted to check I was OK! I assured him I was the best I’d been in years.”
The pair have now become Consultants and have vowed they will never go back to their previous sizes.
“I honestly believe finding The 1:1 Diet not only changed my life but saved my life,” said Karen. “I’ve found my sparkle. I feel years younger and my quality of life is unrecognisable now from the sad woman I was in March 2021.”
Anna-Louise added: “I am the healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been and we are so proud to be ambassadors for how the Plan can transform more than just your BMI. Never going back!”