A mother-of-three from Tylorstown in the Rhondda has shed 10 stone in just 18 months, reducing from a size 30 to a size 16. Sam Jones, 36, was overwhelmed with emotion when she hit the double-figure milestone during a Slimming World class, leaving her consultant and fellow members in tears.
Sam began her weight loss journey in 2021 after two pregnancies left her struggling with everyday activities. She said her body was 'starting to fail her', with difficulty walking up stairs and pain in her hips and knees. 'My fear was that I wasn't going to see my children grow up,' she said.
Her previous diet consisted of four slices of white toast with butter for breakfast, followed by a Greggs or chips and sausage for lunch, and pizza or a takeaway for dinner, with crisps and chocolate in between. Now she eats overnight oats or baked oats with fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, jacket potatoes with salad or a Slimming World ready meal for lunch, and homemade curries for dinner, keeping her syns between five and seven a day.
Sam said she feels 'so much happier and healthier' and can now run up and down the stairs and take her children to the park. She also attends a bounce fitness class twice a week. Another emotional moment came when she could shop in 'normal shops' like New Look, River Island, and Primark, instead of specialist plus-size stores.
Sam credits her success to Slimming World consultant Nicola Jones, who runs a class in Porth Plaza on Fridays. 'They are like my family,' Sam said of her class. She added that the journey has been life-changing, noting how much more comfortable she was on a family holiday to Cyprus, with no need for a seatbelt extension or panic attacks about her weight.
