My holiday photos made me lose 5st

My sunbed pics made me lose five stone

When Emma Symonds flew back from her holidays, she’d always arrive home carrying something a little extra. As well as the holiday memories and trinkets, she’d return half a stone heavier than when she left.

By 2009, she was rapidly heading towards 16 stone after yet another wonderfully indulgent trip.

“I loved going on all-inclusive holidays,” explains Emma, 23, from Harlow, Essex. “I went on about five to places like Lanzarote, Tenerife and the Dominican Republic. You could have three huge meals a day – much more than I’d eat at home – and snacks in between, too.

“As it was all paid for, it seemed a waste not to have it. Before I started going on those trips I was a size 12 and around 11 stone.

“But after every trip I’d be half a stone heavier and often we’d have two holidays like this each year. Even when we went self-catering, I couldn’t stop myself wanting to enjoy the local foods.”

Emma’s wake-up call came two years ago when she was flicking through her holiday snaps following a visit to Tunisia.

“I was totally shocked. I looked huge! I was 15st 8lb and a size 18. It took the holiday pictures to make me realise I had to do something,” says Emma, a call centre worker.

“A friend at work had done the Cambridge Weight Plan and it worked for them. I knew it was quite an investment of money and commitment, but I was determined to do it.

“My boyfriend Andy totally supported me by doing it, too,” she says. “He only needed to lose a stone but doing it together made it much easier.”

So Emma began the Plan’s course of meal replacements including porridge, shakes and soups, designed to aid weight loss while containing all the necessary vitamins. The first week was tough, but she soon got into the swing of it and the pounds fell away.

“I was really committed and loved dropping another size. I kept looking at the lovely clothes I could buy as the weight came off.”

In less than six months, Emma had managed to shed an amazing five stone and was back down to a size 12.

“I was so much more active at home and on holiday. The first time away after losing the weight was amazing. We went to Egypt and I didn’t feel hot and sweaty like before,” Emma says. “I felt much less self-conscious. I’d go in the pool, play volleyball and table tennis and keep busy. Before, I’d simply lounge by the pool eating four or five ice-creams a day.

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