Transformed Bernie looks forward to new year

WHAT a difference just over a year makes. In 2013, Coolock local Bernie Kelly lost an outstanding 7 stone 9lbs, transforming her whole life in the process.

Bernie can’t remember the last time she felt so happy with herself, and after struggling with her weight from early childhood, she now wants to share her amazing weight loss secret.

“I started gaining weight at a very young age and my mother didn’t know what to do,

? says Bernie, who for years and years felt herself getting bigger.

“When you have been overweight for so long, you just feel nothing will ever change.

?

A comment about her size was the last straw and Bernie decided that this time she was going to change and that change was going to be Slimming World.

“I’d heard so many people talking about it,

? she says.

“I remember my first night there. I wondered when I walked through the doors would this be any different to other times I had tried to lose weight.

“After listening to the consultant tell her own story about her own life and how she had felt before she lost weight, I realised that it all sounded very familiar.

“It dawned on me that this person has been there and understands what its like to be overweight and how it affects your life and everything you do.

?

That is when Bernie knew it was for her. Things got better when the consultant went on to tell the group about the many things you can eat such as unlimited amounts of pasta, potatoes, rice and meat and that you could have your treats and never feel hungry.

“I thought this to be strange at first, that you could eat all this food and still lose weight,

? she states.

“However, I decided to give it a go.

?

Bernie remembers her first week.

“I could not believe the amount I could eat and was a bit nervous stepping on the scales a week later but I had lost weight,

? she recalls.

This began a pattern for Bernie and every week the pounds kept coming off, she never felt hungry. “You can’t be hungry on this plan, if you get hungry you eat, it’s very simple,

? she adds.

After losing 7 stone 9lbs Bernie has decided that she wants to help other people achieve their dream weight. She will be opening her own group on Wednesday, January 8 in St Joseph’s Family Centre, Greencastle Road, Coolock (beside St Joseph’s Church) at 7.30pm. Tel: 085-8296163 for more information.