Eirini Tsepouni, a 31-year-old stay-at-home mother from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, lost 10 stone after eliminating sugar from her diet for six months and adopting time-restricted eating. She dropped from 21st 12lbs (size 24) to 11st 13lbs (size 12).
Weight gain during pandemic furlough
Eirini was furloughed from her waitressing job during the Covid-19 pandemic and spent her days at home eating and watching movies. She struggled to sit and play with her daughter Leila due to severe knee pain, prompting her to change her lifestyle. “I didn’t want her to lose her childhood with her mum and all those memories just because of my weight,” she said.
Diet transformation and sugar elimination
In December 2024, Eirini removed rubbish food like crisps and cakes from her shopping, replacing them with eggs, meat, salad and fruit. She cut out sugar entirely for six months and restricted eating to between 12pm and 7pm. Her typical lunch became tuna or steak salad, dinner consisted of finger foods such as cucumber, cheese, turkey, croutons and olives, and snacks were fruit.
“What I realised was I was feeling more energetic without sugar,” she told Sell Us Your Story. “My skin was glowing and I did lose weight faster.” She also walked more than 10,000 steps daily, taking Leila to the park and strolling around the city centre.
Impact on health and daily life
Eirini no longer experiences knee pain and can sit on the floor with her daughter without planning how to get up. “Being overweight I needed a plan to live... Having my daughter woke me up,” she said. She now feels “more beautiful than ever and stronger than ever” and has bought white jeans in a size 12 for the first time.
Eirini emphasised that the scale can be misleading: “You might not see it on the scale, but in your measurements.” She views her new eating pattern as a life-changing habit rather than a diet, comparing food to fuel for a car. “I don’t want my daughter to grow up seeing me with snacks in my hand all the time,” she added.
