NI woman who was 'overweight all her life' shares three simple changes that helped her lose six stone

Catherine Devlin had struggled with her weight ever since she was young.

The Tyrone woman had tried every diet under the sun to no avail.

However, she is now six stone down and has completely transformed her life after finding out how to make weight loss work for her.

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Speaking to RSVP Live, Catherine said: "I was overweight all my life. I don't think there's a diet that I haven't tried. I tried everything. I just found, growing up, I never stuck to anything."

"In March 2019, I hit probably my heaviest weight, I was nearly 20 stone. I had just finished a relationship, and to be honest I was in the pits of depression. I just thought right, I need to do something here."

Catherine joined a bootcamp-type fitness programme that spanned 12 weeks and despite being initially apprehensive about taking it on, she ended up losing two stone in that 12 weeks. The weight loss spurned her on to continue with her new found love of exercise.

"That was the start of my journey," she said. "I didn't do any calorie counting or anything. I changed my portions and I reduced my takeaways."

Catherine made three major changes to her lifestyle, and sticking to these has helped her lose six stone. They are reducing her portion sizes and takeaways, getting the confidence to do exercise classes and changing her mindset around weight loss.

She explained: "I didn't have to aim to lose seven or eight pounds a week; aim for the first pound, and when you've lost the first pound, go for the second pound. I remember years ago I'd have thought, I have six stone to lose, I'm never going to do this. But focus on one pound, then go to the next pound. You wouldn't believe how quickly those pounds add up!"

One big thing that Catherine changed this time around was building up the confidence to go and do regular exercise classes.

"I can still tell you what I wore the first time I went into that exercise class," she said. "My heart sank because I was the biggest one in the class. But I didn't realise, and I think a lot of people who are overweight too don't realise, that everybody there is so supportive. I always thought they're going to laugh at me, or they're going to think this or that of me. It's not that way at all."

"People, nine times out of ten, are in their own lane. They're worrying about themselves, and in that class dynamic, they're supporting you."

Catherine feels fantastic now after losing the weight and transitioning to a healthier lifestyle. You can keep up to date with her on her Instagram page here.

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