Lyndhurst woman loses 6.5 stone with Slimming World after dad warned her of Covid death

A WOMAN lost 6.5 stone after being told by her father that if she caught Covid she would die, unless she shifted the weight.

Kate Donohoe, from Lyndhurst, successfully shed the pounds to go from a size 20 to a 10 and now weighs 9 stone 11lb.

The catalyst for Kate was the shock warning from her dad and a photo taken of her at her son's christening just before the first lockdown in March last year.

She said: “As the pandemic progressed my dad didn’t pull his punches.

“He told me, ‘If you get Covid you will die’.

“I had all the high-risk factors: asthma and being morbidly obese. He was right and, to be honest, I was terrified about it myself.”

Talking about the christening photo, Kate said: “I had really done myself up with a nice dress, hair and make-up. I thought I looked fab.

“But when I saw a picture of me later, I cried. I just looked so big.”

Kate had been slim before having her first son, who is now nine, but put weight on during and after the pregnancy. “I really did do the ‘eating for two’ bit. I eventually dieted and got down to my goal.

“I stayed like that until I became pregnant with son number two who is now three-and-a-half. But then it was like someone had said ‘You can eat what you want now!’, so I did.”

As her weight rose up to 16 stone 5lb and her dad’s warning ringing in her ears, Kate turned to Slimming World for help as a friend of hers had lost five-and-a-half stone with the plan.

She said: “We did all the meetings on Zoom which actually worked really well. I’ve made some great new friends from it who I keep in touch with on WhatsApp.

“It means we can support each other.

“My goal was to be ‘fit for 40’ as my milestone birthday was coming up in June this year.”

A delighted Kate said: “I am thrilled. I feel so much healthier. I know now as well that if I want to stay slim, I have to eat the way I eat now.

“My eating habits have been re-trained. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have the occasional treat.

“For my 40th birthday I was taken to the Lime Wood Hotel twice for a meal and I had what I wanted.

“I wore two beautiful outfits and felt fantastic. In the past I would have been so embarrassed going out for a meal, I always felt people were judging me, saying, ‘God, she’s so fat’.”

Katie has now become a Slimming World leader herself and has opened a branch in Lymington at the United Reformed Church. Phone 07776 221663.