‘I just want to say good luck to anyone going through a similar thing in their life, you’ve got this’
A mum of two whose weight began to creep up after having her children has sent out a message of hope to others struggling to feel good about themselves. Una Thompson managed to shed over four-and-a-half stones on a Slimming World diet but then suffered a setback in her bid to feel “more comfortable in myself” after the pandemic hit, when all the pounds “and more” piled back on.
Now Una, who is originally from Nottingham and who at the age of four moved with her family to Armagh in Northern Ireland, wants to inspire others to feel happy in their own skin. “I never had a goal weight in mind and I still don’t really,” said Una, who has now lost a total of five stones, seven-and-a-half pounds.
“I have noticed a huge change in my mood – and so has my husband – and I even got the motivation to take up running, which has further helped with the weight loss,” she said. Una started at a Slimming World group, at Brough Methodist Church, at the end of September last year.
“The support from the group has been phenomenal. For me, going to group, even on the weeks that I know I’ve gained weight, is key to taking accountability of my journey and helps me realise that having one bad week doesn’t mean I’ve lost all of my progress.
“Everyone in the group is extremely supportive and everyone has their own inspiring stories to tell. A few months into my journey with Slimming World, my mother-in-law, father-in-law and my sister decided to join me.
“Since then my mother-in law-has lost two stone nine pounds, my father-in-law has lost two-and-a-half-stone and my sister has lost one stone. Having them by my side has been amazing and I will be forever grateful for their support.”
When Una decided she felt unhappy as she was, it was finding the drive to start that was the most difficult part, she said. “That’s why I set up my Instagram page; it was more for me in the first instance; a motivational tool.
“As I got more followers, however, it became a place for support, where I could go and hear other people’s stories and offer my own ideas about what was working for me. My ambition is to use my platform to help others to lose weight and know that they are not alone in their journey.”
For the first eight years of her life, Una said she never really had any issues with her weight but, after surgery to remove her appendix, her battle with weight gain began. “I was always overweight in my teens and in early adulthood.
“At 19 years old, I lost my mother with whom I was extremely close. I tried to stay in Northern Ireland but, after three years, I realised there was nothing left for me there anymore.
“I left Northern Ireland and headed for Hull. I moved in with my sister, who had moved there a couple of years prior to attend university.
“Shortly after moving to Hull, I met my future husband and shortly after that, we were expecting our first child. We went on to have our second child and get married.
“This is when my initial weight loss journey began. I started the Slimming World diet and something clicked.”
After Covid-29 hit, Una put all the weight she had lost back on. “I tried, numerous times after that, to lose the weight again but I just couldn’t seem to get it right. I lost touch with my followers on Instagram and had all but given up.
“Four-and-a-half years passed and I decided to try again. I got back in touch with the Instagram community and went back to Slimming World.”
Una said: “Getting started in making your life better for yourself is hard but only you can do it. Make sure you have a support network to keep you going.
“If you don’t have one, create one. Create a social media page and share your journey, there are thousands of people out there going through the same thing, to realise that is key.
“You’re not alone in this. Times get hard, life throws a spanner in the works, but it’s about getting back on it and having that support network makes it much easier.
“I want to stress that I’m not perfect, I have the odd week here and there that I’m not on it. I have lost weight one week and put more on the next.
“Without my family and the friends I’ve made along the way, it would have been much harder to get to where I am today. I just want to say good luck to anyone going through a similar thing in their life, you’ve got this.
“Also, please feel free to get in touch via my Instagram page if you need any support or advice or just follow me to join me on my journey. The door is always open.” Una can be found @its_never_too_late_to_restart