Name: Laura
Age: 30
Start weight: 246lbs
End/Current weight: 171lbs

1 - Tell me about your previous dieting attempts.

I joined Slimming World in October 2016 at 21st 7lbs; by July 2017, I had lost five stones. 

I continued with Slimming World for another two years, and by December 2019, I had put on 3st that I had lost. I was being told it was because I wasn't trying hard enough. 

I was bingeing on "free foods", clinging onto the hope that I could eat as much as I wanted and lose the weight again. By December 2019, I was miserable and frustrated, feeling trapped by SW, believing it was the only possible thing that could work because I'd previously lost five stone. 

2020 and the pandemic hits, I baked, I baked, and I baked some more, I ate, I ate, and I ate some more. I was using food as a comfort and eating as much "free food" as I wanted. By the time I finally joined Munro in June 2020, I was at 17st 8lb. I was so angry at myself that I had spent nearly four years of my life chasing the same weight loss and never getting anywhere. 

That all changed when I joined Munro; talk about a lightbulb moment! 💡

2 - What was it you hoped The Munro Method would do for you? 

I wanted to stop this endless cycle of being miserable and frustrated that I wasn't losing weight because I was doing everything I was told to; I was eating as much "free food" as I wanted. I knew that this wasn't a healthy mentality and that it led to binge eating and continuing to allow me to use food as comfort, which is what got me into this mess in the first place.

I was hoping that I would learn about my relationship with food, health and nutrition, something you absolutely do not get from SW.

3 - How did you hear about us?? 

My best friend moved away from SW and joined Munro 18 months before me. She was telling me about calories and macros. I thought she was mad; why on earth would she want to move away from eating as much free food as possible to lose weight? 

Let me tell you; I saw first-hand how weight loss, her fitness and her positive relationship with food changed during that time.

4 - What was it about us that stood out from other available options? 

I always knew that I needed my relationship with food addressing and to learn about nutrition and health. I had started to question the bull shit from SW. Why can I have as much pasta as I like? But God forbid I have an avocado? The biggest thing that stood out for me was the one-to-one personal help and support and the big focus on the relationship with food and education around health and nutrition.

5 - Did anything almost put you off coming to work with us? 

I was really nervous about starting; I was put off by calories and nutrition and Macros and not eating as much rice and pasta and potatoes as I wanted. It felt like a mammoth task to move away from the comfort of SW.

6 - What made you bite the bullet and sign up? 

I could see the positive changes in my best friend; I knew it worked; I knew I had to be brave and start my journey.

7 - What did you enjoy most about being a Clan Munro member? 

I absolutely loved the one-to-one approach; I could ask anything at any time, I was never on my own. In June 2020, I watched a live chat one evening in the hot tub… I loved the simplicity of it. I love the science behind it. I loved that this was based on fact and that this was going to work. The daily posts also made me think entirely outside the box and were daily reminders of the importance of where to keep my focus. The personalised check-in is brilliant; I cannot believe that for just a couple pounds more than the cost of SW, I am now getting personalised one-to-one help and support with my relationship with food, health and nutrition!

8 - What have you been able to achieve since become a member of the Clan? 

I have broken that plateau!

Before joining Munro, I thought that was it. I thought this was just where my body wanted to be either oral was always going to be a size 18/20. Because I was big-boned… I desperately wanted to be a size 16.

I am now a size 14 in tops!

9 - What has exceeded your expectations since working with us? 

• I am so confident!
• I love looking at photos of myself.
• I love having my photo taken.
• I love walking.
• I love feeling healthy.

I enjoy eating normal food, making syn-free nachos out of lasagne sheets, no more quark, no more bloody Muller lights!

I love that I can go to a restaurant and choose to eat whatever I like and not feel guilty about it. 

I also did not expect my lifelong SW member and dinosaur (her own words) Mum ever to move away from SW.

The thing that has exceeded my expectations the most is that my mum has been spurred on by my progress and has lost nearly three stones!

More than she could have ever dreamed of achieving in a lifetime at SW.

10 - Why would you recommend us to others? 

It works – it's the truth – it's science – it's a holistic approach - it's not forever, it's not a cult!

I would recommend this because they do not want to take your money forever, and Munro wants to provide you with a lifelong package to manage your relationships and struggles with food in the future. 

This is about learning how to maintain your weight loss.

We all know we can lose weight; we've done it before on multiple different diets. We then put that weight back on; this is not about losing weight; this is about maintaining your weight loss and learning how to not re-gain in the future, the same way you might have in the past.

11 - Was there anything about Munro that surprised you? 

I was amazed at the in-depth content; I didn't realise that there was so much information and much to learn about food health and nutrition.

12 - What advice would you give someone thinking about joining us? 

Just do it!

Let go of the comfortable bull shit about free food - be brave, be open-minded, and this will be the last time you will ever have to think about your weight.

13 - How confident are you that you can now take everything you've learned during your time with us to go on and maintain the results you've achieved? 

I am very confident that I know how to achieve my weight loss goal, I am still on my weight loss journey, and I am so excited to start the real journey, which is learning how to maintain my weight! 

That is a new journey, and I can't do it without Munro.