A mother has revealed the simple lifestyle tweaks that saw her shed five stone while still managing to enjoy all her favourite foods – including pizza, burgers and sweet treats.
Teagan Hopwood, 31, from Kent, went from a dress size 20 to a size 10 in just six months by gradually reducing her calorie intake and doing twice-weekly at-home workouts that she planned around her young daughter’s naps.
The barista says her realistic attitude and dedication to ‘sustainable habits’ are the reason she’s managed to keep the weight off for two years.
‘I’m happy, way more confident and I can safely say I love my body,’ she said.
‘Despite the stretch marks and saggy skin from the weight loss I am the most confident I have ever been.
‘I’m more active, made new friends at the gym and my daughter aspires to be strong like me instead of how I felt growing up wanting to be skinny.
‘I’ve kept a healthy lifestyle since and for me that means balance.
‘Yes, I eat processed foods – I like to go by the 80/20 rule so 80 per cent of homemade foods and 20 per cent takeaway and chocolate.
Ms Hopwood has shed an impressive five stone on two years by making simple changes
‘I’m still human and still want to enjoy my life.’
Ms Hopwood’s weight loss journey began in 2023, after spending the previous summer deeply unhappy with her body image.
‘It was the first heatwave of 2022 and I couldn’t fit into the only pair of denim shorts that I owned,’ she said. ‘I was already unhappy with my weight however this was the push that made me change for good.
‘I had just had enough and this time I’d seen so many videos about calorie deficits that I actually understood what I needed to do now.
‘It was never that I couldn’t lose the weight, it was that I wasn’t in the right mindset to do so – I had to be ready.’
Ms Hopwood began to swap her usual diet of entire bags of chocolate and three chicken wraps at lunch for high-protein meals and healthy snacks like Babybels and Kiwis.
She started eating 2,200 calories per day, before gradually dropping her intake until she reached 1,700.
‘I prioritised protein at every meal, making smart swaps and still eating all the food I love like Pizza Hut takeaways and homemade chicken burgers.
‘It was never much about what I was eating just how much I was eating,’ she said.
Ms Hopwood shifted the pounds by eating 1700 calories a day but still enjoying her favourites
Ms Hopwood said she now prioritises strength training in order to boost her muscle gains which is proven to help maintain weight loss
‘I would make fajita wraps but would have about three which adds up.’
She also introduced a regular exercise routine involving two high intensity (HIIT) workouts per week, as well as some weight lifting – all of which she fit in around her baby daughter’s nap times.
Within six months she’d dropped from 16st 4 to 11st 9lbs.
‘Once I’d lost the weight I introduced strength training four times a week to build muscle,’ she said.
Ms Hopwood is adamant that she’s managed to keep the weight off by carefully planning her weekly calorie intake.
‘I plan out my weekly meals on a Sunday before I do the food shop,’ she said.
‘I have things like chicken burgers, fajita mince with butternut squash, homemade pizzas, chicken skewers with rice and veggies.
‘I love making egg wraps for lunch and filling them with chicken slices and mustard and lettuce.
‘And I always have light Babybels and a kiwi with lunch.’
She still enjoys sweet treats in the evening, but has swapped chocolate bars for low fat Greek yoghurt mixed with chocolate protein powder.
‘I top it with mini marshmallows, pretzels, M&Ms and chocolate sauce. It fits in with my calorie limit, so why not?’
As for weight loss jabs, Ms Hopwood said she’d ‘never even considered them’.
‘I knew I could lose the weight on my own. It was staying consistent that I needed to work on.
‘I have nothing against people taking the jab, but I do wish people would actually try doing it themselves first though instead of thinking they are taking the easy route.
‘You have to learn how to keep the weight off.’
In January, a pivotal study found that patients who stop using weight loss jabs are likely to pile the pounds they lost back on.
On average, users gained around a pound a month after quitting, with many projected to have regained much of or all the weight lost by between 17 and 20 months.
Professor Susan Jebb, co-author of the study and adviser to ministers and the NHS on obesity, suggested people may need a lifetime solution – such as jabs or behaviour change support or both – to tackle obesity in the long-term.
She said: ‘Obesity is a chronic relapsing condition, and I think one would expect that these treatments need to be continued for life, just in the same way as blood pressure medication.’
