Britain's weight loss success stories: 'I dropped down to a size eight after having two children - my meal plan is simple'

To see long-term changes in your physique, dieters are encouraged to reassess virtually all aspects of their daily lives, particularly their relationship to food.

This is how Gina, a 33-year-old from Guilford, dropped two dress sizes after having two children.

The slimmer says she's never felt better and has managed to sustain her new weight by "keeping things simple".

Gina's diet

Before the weight loss, Gina's breakfast would typically include a slice of toast or bacon sandwich with white bread, followed by a ham baguette for lunch and a heavy carbohydrate dinner of pasta.

Snacks would usually be a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar every night, with a cup of tea. Today, Gina’s diet looks slightly different.

“If I have breakfast, it would be cereal," she shared. "I mainly do intermittent fasting and that works for me as I am hardly ever hungry in the mornings."

Lunch including eggs or bacon on sourdough. While dinner still often includes pasta, Gina tries to control the size of her portions now.

“I am still a huge pasta low but I have massively cut down my portion sizes,” she noted. Sometimes she’ll have turkey mince in wraps of chicken and couscous.

She went on: “I very rarely snack now but if I do I tend to have breadsticks or crackers mainly because my children like them, so I have them at home.”

Gina's motivation

Gina’s journey started the day she realised she wanted to feel better about herself physically and mentally.

“I wanted to be stronger; after having two emergency C-sections I have no core muscles at all and I didn’t want to let my body get to the state it did after having my first daughter five years ago," she said.

“I wanted to feel proud of how I looked and comfortable in clothes again.”

Gina claimed she owes much of her success to the Emergy boot camp programme, which like many others, consists of intense workouts and a tailored diet.

According to WebMD, the cardio portion of the boot camps is what helps burn fat, while exercises like planks, mountain climbers, and sit-ups improve core strength.

Boot camp programmes have become massively popular among fitness enthusiasts because they work out every muscle group and don’t require equipment.

How does Gina maintain her weight?

Gina claims she kept the weight off simply by drinking more water and moving her body as frequently as possible.

Cutting down her portion sizes and intermittent fasting have also proven hugely beneficial, she added.

“I never expected to be able to look how I do now," Gina shared. "I gave into the realisation a long time ago that I was always going to have lots of cellulite around my tummy, that I was always going to have big hips.

“Then I met some amazing mums at my daughter’s schools who did this boot camp and it looked like really good fun.

“I have been in every week and now two to three times a week and I love it. I laugh so much when I’m there, I’m surrounded by inspiring women, who talk about their normal everyday problems and then we workout.

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“I feel fabulous not just because I feel stronger and healthier and that I now can first back into my size eight dresses, but because I have a whole new community of amazing women and men who I look forward to seeing and motivate me to be fit and strong in my body and mind."

When asked what her biggest tip would be for other slimmers embarking on their weight loss journey, Gina shared: “Keep it simple, find what works for you, what you enjoy and want to do.

“I want to go to Bootcamp and that’s why I do it, not because I feel like I have to exercise, I do it because I love it.”

She also recommends drinking lots of water and Bio-Synergy's protein shakes, adding: “Intermittent fasting seems to really work for me. Cut down massively on white bread.”