'How losing 10kg gave me my confidence back after a shock diagnosis'

Setting goals was essential to her success

Sloan says you have to trust the process. Image: Pexels

When weight gain started affecting Kaitlyn Sloan’s confidence and mental health, she turned to 28 by Sam Wood. Now, she can proudly say she’s lost 10kg thanks to the program's expert guidance and tasty, nutritious meals.

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For Melbourne social worker Kaitlyn Sloan, stepping on the scales and seeing 75kg was a hard pill to swallow.

Her whole life she'd been fit and healthy. But once she reached the age of 32, she was diagnosed with osteopenia, a condition where sufferers experience a decrease in bone density. To avoid fractured bones and relieve back pain, she scaled back on her usual training regimen. 

Sloan tells Body+Soul she first enlisted sports physiotherapist, Ross Kinsella to increase her bone density and build her confidence back. "Over a two-year time frame, I increased my bone density by 4.4 per cent," she says.

But come 2020, she still wasn't seeing the weight loss results she was after, and then the pandemic hit. While yes, she was still working out, there were a couple of bad habits she needed to zone in on.

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"Between a combination of this and Covid lockdowns, the weight continued to increase and I became really unhappy with my body and appearance," she admits.

"I would normally eat home-cooked meals, that I thought were healthy eating. Little did I know that my biggest issue was portion sizes, and I liked alcohol, probably too much."

As a result, Sloan's mental health was deteriorating, and her confidence was at an all-time low, so she went looking for a holistic option to regain her self-esteem.

"Prior to 28 by Sam Wood, I focused on the strengthening exercises that my sports physiotherapist gave me, walking daily, and climbing steps when the weather permitted," she explained. 

With some tweaks to her exercise regimen and a healthier focus on eating, she started seeing results. "The first few weeks I focused on slow and achievable changes," she explains.

Like, "limiting portions, and ensuring I exercised daily. Each week I added a new goal: limit alcohol, cut out sugar, and drink three litres of water a day. After a few weeks, this all became natural and I was able to increase my exercise and focus on nutrition so that it came embedded in my daily routine."

Sloan says she was looking for a holistic option to regain her self-esteem. Image: Supplied

Sloan's typical day on a plate

Breakfast: Smoothie with banana, cashews, milk, vanilla protein and either strawberries or mango.

Lunch: Leftovers from dinner or a chicken and salad sandwich.

Dinner: A 28 by Sam Wood meal. My favourites include; lamb shepherd's pie, skinny carbonara, spinach stuffed chicken with chickpea and sweet potato mash, Woody’s butter chicken, beef and three pepper goulash, chicken laksa, and Mediterranean tuna pasta.

Snacks: During the day I will have a coffee, and maybe a small snack of fruit or nuts.

Treats: In the evening I will have a hot chocolate and protein bar.

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A typical week of exercise

Sloan aims to walk at least 10,000 steps a day by hitting the pavement during breaks at work and walking her dogs.

"At the beginning, I focused on the generic 28 by Sam Wood original workouts, interval running and climbing the 1000 steps," she says. "Now I gravitate more towards dancing and HIIT."

"I find that combining these two workouts into my daily schedule was the major shift I needed in getting fitter, healthier, and finding ways that I enjoyed to exercise that was achievable at home."

The bonus? "I also developed good friendships with Joss and Lucy which made me feel like I was part of a community that was cheering me on and enabled me to want to workout and achieve goals with them," Sloan says.

She's also maintaining her weight, and living her best, healthiest life.

"It took around 10 months to get to my goal weight of 64kgs, and then I continued to lose another 2kgs over the next two months. Since then I have sustained the weight loss over six months."

She learned that portion control is paramount. Image: Supplied

The biggest lessons Sloan's learnt through 28 By Sam Wood

Sloan says, "You can be happy with your body. Portion control is paramount. You can go out and not have alcohol."

Her biggest challenges

"Cutting out alcohol and chocolate. Now I find that I rarely eat chocolate, and go out without wanting alcohol and barely drink alcohol," she admits.

Sloan's advice for others trying to lose weight

Sloan wants you to trust the process. "Weight loss does not happen overnight and some weeks you won’t lose any weight."

She suggests taking before and after snaps of yourself every fortnight, plus taking measurements instead of focusing on the scales. "Changes do occur that aren’t always visible on the scales."

Kickstart your weight loss journey today and discover a fitter, healthier you with Sam Wood's proven home fitness program.

Originally published as 'How losing 10kg gave me my confidence back after a shock diagnosis'