Woman ditches junk food and takeaway to lose more than half her body weight

Laura Neil turned to junk food for comfort after the death of her dad, but a party photo shared on Facebook gave her the jolt she needed to change.

When Laura Neil lost her dad to cancer in 2010, she found comfort in junk food as she withdrew from life.

She would regularly skip breakfast and binge on chips and chocolate throughout the day before ordering takeaway for dinner, rarely cooking food for herself.

“I’d always been quite heavy as a child, but I lost my dad to cancer at 21 and put on 32kg in a year. At my heaviest, I weighed 145kg,” she said.

“I was depressed from losing my dad. It was very sudden, we were told he had longer left than he lived for.

“I was just eating a lot of junk food and takeaways, I didn’t often eat a normal meal that I had cooked myself.”

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Laura Neil was shocked when she saw a photo of herself at a party after years of eating takeaway and junk food following the tragic death of her dad. Picture: SWNS/Mega

Doctors warned her weight could impact her fertility. Picture: SWNS/Mega

It wasn’t until a family friend shared a picture on Facebook of Laura at an engagement party that she knew her diet had to change.

She was so shocked by the snap she “burst out crying”.

“I never looked at myself. A family member took the picture and uploaded it to Facebook,” she said.

“I felt I looked really shocking, I had to do something about it.”

Laura, now 32, was also warned by doctors her weight could affect her fertility.

If she wanted to be fit enough to have kids – and run around after them – she knew she needed to ditch the junk food and radically overhaul her diet.

The student midwife from Falkirk, Scotland, went on to lose more than half her body weight, dropping from a size 26 to a size 10, by ditching her daily takeaways for healthier, home cooked food. She now weighs about 66kg.

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Laura overhauled her diet by cooking meals from scratch. Picture: SWNS/Mega

Laura says she feels more confident. Picture: SWNS/Mega

She began researching healthier ways of preparing food and began using the Pinch of Nom recipe book to cook meals from scratch.

A year into her healthier lifestyle, she fell pregnant with her only daughter Esme, now five.

“I had to lose weight to start a family as doctors told me it might affect my chances of getting pregnant,” she said.

“I had ups and downs, but I was determined to get back at it. I wanted to get to my goal.”

At about 100kg, she also joined weight loss program Scottish Slimmers, and she followed their diet to lose more kilos.

Laura, who is engaged to fiance Garry McAllister, said her new figure gave her more confidence and allowed her to be a good mum to her daughter.

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Laura dropped eight dress sizes. Picture: SWNS/Mega

“It has been life-changing, I’m much more confident, I was very depressed before,” she said.

“I wouldn’t go out with my friends because I was so embarrassed by my size and worried that people were staring at me.

“Now I can go out and socialise, I would never have taken a picture of myself before, but now I don’t mind it.

“I wouldn’t be able to be as active as a mum and do the things parents would do with their kids if I didn’t lose the weight.

“I take my daughter swimming and I would never have put myself in a bathing suit before.

“My friends are always saying they can’t believe the change in me. Some people don’t even recognise me if they haven’t seen me for a while.”

Laura’s diet before:

Breakfast: Full fry up

Lunch: Laura would skip lunch

Dinner: Takeaway at around 7 or 8pm

Snacks: Chips and chocolate

Laura’s diet now:

Breakfast: Poached eggs, bacon medallions

Lunch: Salad or a baked potato

Dinner: Home cooked healthier options such as lasagne

Snacks: Fruit