After my daughter was born, I was diagnosed with post-natal depression and started putting on weight. This made me feel even worse, and my self-esteem was very low. I often felt exhausted, even when I hadn’t done much physically during the day. 

When I noticed my clothes getting tighter, I decided to try to lose the weight I’d gained. At the beginning of 2016, a leaflet advertising my local Slimming World group popped through my door. I went along to find out more – and I’ve been a member ever since. It’s really helped me to make changes that’ll last for good. 

I think Slimming World works for me because it ticks three key boxes that make it easy to fit in with my life: 

It was important to me that any changes I made to my eating habits were suitable for the whole family, as I wanted my daughter to grow up with a healthy, balanced diet. I discovered that Slimming World’s eating plan, Food Optimising, works for the whole family, with easy, everyday meals that we can all enjoy together. I can still eat my favourites, like filling chilli and hearty casseroles, while losing weight. I often used to have ready meals and quick snacks like crisps. Now I’ve got much more variety in my diet, and I love trying new recipes from the Slimming World app and magazine. 

Discover what you can eat on the Slimming World plan

My Slimming World group is incredibly friendly and supportive, and attending regularly helps me stay at my target weight. I pick up so many food and meal ideas at group, as well as hearing about different and fun ways of achieving activity goals. Over the past year, I’ve struggled with my motivation sometimes. Going to group always gets me back into a positive mindset and makes me feel more determined to stick to my long-term health goals. 

Find out more about what happens in a Slimming World group

I was reasonably active before I joined Slimming World, and would walk a couple of miles a day. Once I was a member, I found the Body Magic activity support programme helped me to improve my fitness by gradually adding more activity into my daily life. After I reached my target weight, I felt confident enough to try the Couch to 5K running app. Now I run a few days a week and I’ve joined a running club. I really enjoy entering races, and completing the Pretty Muddy obstacle course at Race for Life with my daughter was a real highlight! 

Alongside the running, I take my dog on long walks with my family. I enjoy using fitness machines like the rowing machine and cross-trainer, too – and even a mini trampoline we have at home. Since I lost weight, I’ve found the confidence to do our local Go Ape high ropes course and climb the famous O2 building in London! 

This month I’ll be ticking off one of my big goals as part of the Slimming World London Marathon team. I’ll be running for Cancer Research UK, to help them continue their life-saving work. Members of my family have been diagnosed with cancer over the past year, and it’s highlighted to me how many factors go into a cancer diagnosis, and how a treatment plan can be created for each individual case. I’m proud to be able to give something back by raising funds for this worthy cause. 

Here’s Llinos’s fundraising page.

Weight loss will vary due to your individual circumstances and how much weight you have to lose.

If you’re planning to start a new exercise programme, we recommend you check with your GP first – especially if you have an existing health condition, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. If you’re pregnant, check the suitability of the exercise with your midwife.