Hamilton's Stephanie wins award for slimming success

Sep 3 2009 by Sandra Walls, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON woman was this week presented with a ‘Woman of the Year Award’ for slimming.

Stephanie Cameron (24), from Chatelherault Crescent, attends the Slimming World classes organised by weight-loss consultant Lynn Cannon.

Stephanie, a customer services representative for First Direct, joined the classes, which are held at Hillhouse Parish Church, in January weighing 15st 12lbs. She has lost over four stone in 35 weeks.

She was a size 20, with a 46-inch waist but has slimmed down to a healthier size 14 and has taken 15 inches from her waistline.

Stephanie said: “I was embarrassed at the first weigh-in at my class as I had been ignoring how heavy I had become.

“Now I go every week and love to see the weight come off.

“I was also embarrassed to go out, but now feel much more confident and no longer make excuses not to go outside.”

Stephanie’s weight not only damaged her self-esteem, but began to affect her health.

She added: “My blood pressure was high and I had to wear a heart monitor 24-hours-a-day. After taking off the weight, my blood pressure is now normal.”

Stephanie found added inspiration to drop the excess weight after buying a designer outfit for a Christmas night out, only for it to be too small for her by the time the bash had come around.

She said: “I bought the suit last November to wear at the Christmas party, but when it came around, I had gained weight and it was too tight.

“After being on the plan from January to June, I had arranged a night out with a friend.

“I was wearing the skirt when she came in, but I was holding all the excess material and had it tucked behind my back.

“She said I looked fabulous and when I let the extra material go, the skirt slipped off.

“We were in hysterics and it proved how much weight I had actually lost.”

Slimming class consultant Lynn Cannon added: “We are delighted that Stephanie is ‘Woman of the Year’ for the Hillhouse Club.

“She goes on to the district finals on September 20, and if she gets through, she will go onto the national finals, where she could win £5000.

“However, she is already a winner in our eyes.”