Busy mum-of-three ditches regular diets to lose four stone
Losing weight is difficult, and it's especially so when little help is available. It gets even harder when there are so many different bits of advice floating around, from Atkins to intermittent fasting - finding the right one that works is like swimming in a sea of misinformation and fake Instagram accounts.
However, one London mum-of-three managed to shed four stone with the help of an app, Simple. Makeda says she was at her heaviest - 18.5 stone, or 117.5kg - after the birth of her twins, where she already was mum to a daughter, who was under five at the time.
Despite having one of the busiest lifestyles possible, it was her children that motivated her to lose weight - bringing her down to an incredible 14 stone (88kg). Makeda said: "I had got up to about 18.5 stone. I am very happy to be a mum, but I just really felt the pressure. I had gained a lot of weight. It's the heaviest I'd ever been, and I was just always in a lot of pain. I had a lot of joint pain and back pain, and I just felt like I just couldn't keep up.
"And one of the goals for me was, yes, I wanted to lose the weight and I wanted to feel good in my body, but I also wanted to feel strong in my body. I wanted to know that if one of the twins needed picking up, I could carry both of them at the same time or push the double buggy and carry my other daughter."
Before Makeda found Simple - a health app that helps people track their nutrition and aids in intermittent fasting - she tried a multitude of other diets without success. She continued: "I really was just struggling. Struggling to form any form of habit, and I tried all the diets, every diet I tried it, and I would do really well for maybe the first week, two weeks, maybe even a month, but I just realised it wasn't bespoke to me and my lifestyle.
"It was kind of like they were trying to, these diets were trying to fit me into a particular category, and it just didn't work. I just couldn't be consistent with it."
Makeda - who is also studying to be an occupational therapist while raising her little ones - managed to shift the weight with small lifestyle changes, aided by the Simple app. Currently, the app is offering a 60% discount with the code REACH60.
This state-of-the-art AI coaching app crafts customised weight loss programmes based on lifestyle, activity levels, health objectives and timeline - promoting a balanced diet that yields sustainable, long-term results as users can continue to enjoy their favourite treats.
Makeda shared that using the Simple app, which provides users with a personalised diet plan that may incorporate intermittent fasting - eating wholesome meals during specific hours of the day and fasting for the remaining time - helped her reassess her nutrition and revamp her lifestyle.
She continued: "I didn't change my lifestyle too much, other than I just was really enthusiastic to move my body more. I woke up when I woke up, I was pain free, and full transparency, there were times when I stopped using the app. You know, and my weight fluctuated due to starting studying or due to stress or just life in general. But the really nice thing was I could always come back to it, come back to it, have a reset, and then get back on program."
Makeda also praised the integrated AI app, Avo. It helps you plan exercise routines and diet plans, as well as giving reminders for things like when to fast. Simple also allows you to track food by taking a picture of the ingredients. It then translates the food into a meal score based on the nutritional intake.
She said: "The AI really is very, very intuitive, it really works for you. You get your reminders, you get the support, but it's very much for you. So I really, I really like that aspect of it."
Makeda added: "What makes me really happy now is I go out, take walks, I hike, I go on adventures with my daughters, and I have enough strength and stamina and resilience to do that."
There's a wealth of other apps available that aid users in shedding pounds, much like Simple. For instance, Lifesum is free to download and enables users to monitor their meals, displaying calorie and macro information, with advice on what to consume and even an intermittent fasting tracker.
In the same vein, Noom is a weight loss app that centres on healthy lifestyle alterations and behavioural psychology, offering personalised plans and support for its users.
Meanwhile, Simple has a 4.3 from 30,217 reviews on Trustpilot. One happy user wrote: "Easy to use, not about calories about healthy eating and no guilt."
Another added: "I initially joined Simple for the wall Pilates programme but have really enjoyed the food nutrition guidance and the fasting advice.. I have lost weight, I'm eating healthier and am enjoying the workouts!"
A third wrote: "Without a doubt, AI has been a great experience. I never would have believed that a computer-generated person would be of so much help! But here we are in a new world of possibilities. This might be the best money I've ever spent. I thank you."
However, some users reported issues, with one person saying: "So far I'm losing weight by being accountable and intentional about my food choices. I'm not very good with technology, so navigating the Simple program is challenging. I'll get better going forward."
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