A young woman who lost 10st to pick up a national slimming award is proving her childhood bullies wrong by becoming the confident, fit and healthy person she always wanted to be.
Lucie Hadley, 21, from Peterborough, struggled with her weight since childhood, and was so relentlessly bullied at school that she was forced to move classes several times.
When she started her body transformation, Lucie, who is 5’6”, weighed 19st 3lbs and wore size 22 – 24 clothing.
After losing ten stone, Lucie is now 9st 3lbs and has an enviable size eight figure.
Now, Lucie has been named Slimming World’s Young Slimmer of the Year 2019 and is brimming with confidence.
Lucie Hadley, 21, from Peterborough, used to weight 19st 3lbs and wear a size 22/24. She shed 10 stone in just over a year (Pictured: Lucie after her weight loss)
Lady in red. Lucie went from feeling miserable every day to loving life thanks to her impressive weight loss. (Pictured after losing 10 stone)
Lucie, who lives with her parents and her boyfriend, said: ‘When I was at school, barely a day would go by when people wouldn’t mention my weight.
‘School life was very upsetting for me, and I moved classes many times because of bullying. I lost count of the amount of times I would go home early, pretending to be ill, because of the cruel things people used to say.
‘I remember once someone threw food at me in the school canteen and made the remark “she’ll eat it, she eats everything”. They just made me feel worthless.
‘PE lessons were the worst. I’d try to convince my mum to write me a note, so I didn’t have to change in front of people, and I was terrified of doing physical activities like the bleep test. Sometimes I’d just hide in the changing rooms and cry.
The school worker used to be badly bullied at school and once had food thrown at her. She had to wear specially altered clothes – and school uniform – and wouldn’t fit in any high street brand. (Pictured: Lucie before her weight loss, wearing a costume for a party)
Lucie had a ‘light bulb moment’ heading into her twenties after spending years hating herself because of her weight. (Pictured, Lucie holding out a pair of old shorts, size 22/24)
‘My confidence at that time was rock bottom and the bullying just made everything worse.’
Even away from school, Lucie found that her weight struggles were dominating her life.
‘My mum and sister were always keen to go on girly shopping trips, but they were just a living nightmare for me,’ she explained.
‘Most young people would have loved going out and getting new clothes – not me. I couldn’t fit into anything the high street shops had to offer, so I’d always end up in tears and empty-handed on the way home.
Bouncing back. Lucie used to cut the labels off her clothes in case people spotted her size. (pictured: Lucie going trampolining after her weight loss)
‘Even my school uniform had to be specially made because the biggest size they had wouldn’t fit me.
‘I missed out on so much because I felt insecure about my size. I hated getting glammed up for nights out, and my weight was always on my mind.
‘I remember going to a sleepover with my friends and cutting the labels out of my clothes in case anyone picked them up by mistake and spotted what size I was.
‘I met my boyfriend Sam when I was at my biggest, and he always told me that I was beautiful, but I just couldn’t see it for myself. One night I was talking to Sam and I realised that by worrying about my weight I’d lost out on all of my fun, spontaneous teenage years.
Lucie went from feeling miserable about her weight to loving herself and her life. The young woman wore a bikini for the first time during a holiday with long-term boyfriend Sam. (Pictured: Lucie after her weight loss)
Lucie was worried she be ‘hungry all the time’ going into her diet, but now she won’t look back. (Pictured: Lucie posing with an umbrella after her weight loss
‘I’d already spent my childhood feeling miserable about my weight, and now I was heading into adulthood feeling the same way. It was a bit of a lightbulb moment and I knew something had to change.’
Lucie’s mother had recently joined a local Slimming World group and encouraged her to go along with her.
‘Mum seemed to be getting along well at Slimming World, and the food she was eating looked delicious. So, after a bit of persuading, I decided to join her group,’ she recalled.
‘I was so nervous that first night. Even though I had my mum with me I worried that everyone would judge me for being so overweight at such a young age.
It took Lucie just 14 months to shed the weight and get her life back. The young woman did not want to lose out on her twenties because of her weight. (Pictured: Lucie fitting her whole body in one of the legs of her old shorts)
‘I felt so ashamed, but within minutes I realised that everyone was in that room for the same reason, and rather than judging, we were all there to support each other.
‘My group is like a second family now, I couldn’t have done it without them.’
After learning about Slimming World’s Food Optimising eating plan Lucie stocked her cupboards with Free Food such as pasta, potatoes, fruit, vegetables, eggs and more.
She says: ‘Of course I was worried that I’d be hungry all the time – yet I actually found that I could still eat many of my favourite foods. I’d always known how to cook and I learnt that I just had to prepare meals differently, using low-calorie cooking spray and trimming all the fat off meat.
‘As a family we enjoyed spaghetti Bolognese, full English breakfasts and spicy curries, which tasted so good I couldn’t believe that they were helping me to lose weight. In that first week I lost 5lb, and that was when I realised I could really do this. From there on there was no stopping me.’
Within 14 months of joining Slimming World Lucie was 10st lighter and had discovered a brand-new zest for life.
‘My whole attitude is just so different now – week by week my confidence just grew and grew,’ she said.
Lucie used to eat takeaway pizza and burgers for dinner and snacked non-stop. (Pictured: Lucie holding her old size 22/24 jeans in front of her)
Lucie said she did not enjoy her teenage years because of her insecurities about her weight, but is now ready to enjoy life to the full. (Pictured: Teenage Lucie before she lost the weight)
‘I work at a school for children with special needs and these days I feel like I can offer them so much more. Before I lost the weight my knees and back would ache so much and even getting down on the floor to play with them was a struggle. Now I’ve got bags of energy and I feel like I can do anything!
‘As I lost weight I also unearthed a passion for exercise, which is something I never thought would happen. I’ve gone from someone who would sob in the changing rooms to someone who goes to the gym as a hobby and to me that’s just incredible.
‘The tears and misery are a thing of the past now too, it’s me who’s dragging my mum and sister to the shops!
‘Sam and I recently went on our first holiday together and for the first time in my life I finally felt like a young woman who was just enjoying herself and living in the moment.
‘I even wore a bikini for the first time ever, which is something I used to dream of. When I look at the person in the mirror now, I feel full of pride for what I’ve achieved. I’ve created a healthier and happier future for myself and most importantly, I haven’t let the bullies win.
‘I might have let my teenage years pass me by, but now I’m determined to grab life with both hands.’