Size 20 woman whose ex said she’d ‘never be thin’ drops seven sizes

A woman has dropped seven dress sizes and proved doubters wrong after her boyfriend told her she would ‘never be thin’.

Helena Hara, 27, from The Wirral, Merseyside, claims her ex told her she wouldn’t ever lose weight but after seven years, she decided it was time to change.

Tipping the scales at 14st and wearing size 20 clothes, Helena, then 21, was eating takeaways up to four times a week and snacking on crisps and chocolate. 

She said: ‘I realised I was in a toxic environment, I was looking at a picture of a woman’s body on Instagram, and [my ex] told me I would never be thin and it would just never happen.

Helena Hara, 27, from The Wirral, Merseyside is a size 6 and works as a fitness influencer after dropping seven dress sizes 

At her heaviest, Helen weighed 14st and used to eat takeaways four times a  week, as well as snacking on chocolate and crisps

After leaving the 'toxic environment' of her relationship, Helena overhauled her diet, ditching takeaways and replacing them with high protein and fibre meals

After leaving the ‘toxic environment’ of her relationship, Helena overhauled her diet, ditching takeaways and replacing them with high protein and fibre meals

‘At this time, I had just started taking my social media profiles seriously and I was starting to gain a lot of followers, it was around this time I started to lose weight, but I felt like he didn’t want me to lose any weight.

‘It got quite negative, he wasn’t happy and he became an obstruction to me. I just needed to get out of the relationship.

‘I feel like when you are in a negative situation it makes you a negative person, and because I was unhappy, I turned to food and emotional eating.

‘It was my comfort, and because I wasn’t able to do much, it was what I turned to.’

After ditching her ex, Helena also ditched unhealthy foods and says she turned her life around.

Swapping out pastries, pizza and crisps for fish, protein shakes and fruit, Helena noticed the weight fall off her. 

While making a change to her diet, she started going to the gym almost every day to get active.

Now working as a fitness influencer, Helena is a size six and says she’s happier than ever.

Helena, pictured during her weight loss, said her ex was still in touch with her up until last year and told her how much she had changed since they were together

Helena, pictured during her weight loss, said her ex was still in touch with her up until last year and told her how much she had changed since they were together

Currently single, she says she is working on keeping a healthy mindset and a positive attitude, while helping other women who struggle with body image through her social media presence.

‘Now I go to the gym five to six times a week, I count my calories and macros and live a much more positive and healthy life,’ Helena said.

‘Even my family have noticed such a change in me in an emotional way as I am so much more positive about life compared to how negative I used to be.

‘I did this for me, after being told I would never be thin, I made the gym a huge part of my life and changed my eating habits. 

‘I lost all my confidence and leaving him helped me get my life together in the way I needed to.’

Helena’s diet before

Breakfast: A pastry of some kind, a chocolate yogurt plus three slices of toast with honey and butter

Lunch: Pizza, crisps and chocolate

Dinner: Takeaway – McDonald’s or Chinese

Snacks: Chocolate and crisps

 

Helena’s diet now  

Breakfast: Three Weetabix with yoghurt and fruit. Chicken, sausages, beans and mushrooms

Lunch: Chicken and rice with broccoli with a protein shake and a banana

Dinner: Tortilla wrap with fish

Snacks: Skinny Dream bar, 90-calorie Fibre One bar, or corn thins with Nutella and peanut butter

The influencer says she has always struggled with her relationship with food but has now learnt how to balance her diet without restricting herself. 

She adds: ‘Before, I would snack all the time, I would always have food nearby, whether it be chocolate, crisps, cakes, McDonald’s, anything that was bad.

‘I would have takeaways all the time, I would get a Chinese or a pizza for dinner.

‘But now, I am so much more active, doing a lot of weight training and building up my muscle. I have lost five stone, but I have a lot of muscle weight now.

‘My ex was messaging me me up until last year, he told me how much I have changed.

The fitness influencer wants to use her social media presence to help other women struggling with body image and confidence

The fitness influencer wants to use her social media presence to help other women struggling with body image and confidence 

Helena, pictured during her weight loss, says she had always struggled with her relationship with food and still uses it as a comfort now, but she's more able to enjoy things in moderation

Helena, pictured during her weight loss, says she had always struggled with her relationship with food and still uses it as a comfort now, but she’s more able to enjoy things in moderation

 ‘I would love to help people who want to better their lives and loose weight.

‘I want to help them with fitness and eating habits as I resonate a lot with that, it is close to my heart.

‘I have always struggled with food relationships, I still use it as a comfort now, but I just control what I eat a lot better now and have it in moderation. I still eat chocolate pretty much every day.

‘It is nothing like before, but I don’t restrict myself. I just try and eat a lot cleaner.

‘I give myself 2,300 calories a day, it is in line with building muscle whilst maintaining a slender physique. I just feel as if I have a new lease of life.’

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