If food feels like something that controls you rather than something you control, Colette’s story will give you real hope. She spent years trapped in yo-yo dieting and bingeing, yet she found a way to take back control, and remarkably, she did it during one of the hardest periods of her life.
You can listen to Colette tell her story now
Why do we sabotage our own weight loss?
Often it comes down to fear. When I surveyed 4,000 former dieters who’d joined Slimpod, fear of failure turned out to be one of the biggest psychological hangovers from years of dieting. When you’ve tried and “failed” so many times, part of you starts to expect it, and that fear quietly leads to self-sabotage.
Colette knew that feeling well. She’d been slim as a youngster, then piled on weight over the years, bouncing from diet to diet and ending each one heavier and more frustrated than the last. A diagnosis of fatty liver and an underactive thyroid, alongside a diet heavy in convenience foods and sugar, was her wake-up call. But knowing what to do and being able to do it are two very different things.
Can you really change lifelong eating habits?
Yes, and Colette is living proof. What shifted for her wasn’t another set of rules, it was the way she thought about food.
She’d tried food diaries and meal plans with a personal trainer and simply couldn’t stick to them. After starting Slimpod, she noticed something straight away. The very next morning, she was far more aware of the choices she was making. The change came from the inside rather than from willpower. Over time, the bingeing that had once seen her eat through a dozen bags of crisps in a sitting fell away, to the point where she can now have a few nuts from an open packet and happily leave the rest. For anyone who has ever felt powerless around certain foods, that’s enormous.
What happens when life feels completely out of control?
Just as Colette was finding her feet, she was diagnosed with cancer and told she’d need chemotherapy. She was terrified all her progress would unravel.
Instead, she decided that nourishing herself well was one thing she could control when so much else had been taken out of her hands. She kept her meals wholesome, kept walking as her consultants encouraged, and leaned on the support of the Slimpod community. She credits those changes with helping her feel strong and positive throughout, and she lost four stone along the way. Every cancer journey is different and your medical team always guides your treatment, but looking after your nutrition and staying active where you can is genuinely sound support for your wellbeing.
How do new habits become second nature?
They stop feeling like effort and start feeling automatic. Years on, Colette still batch-cooks and portions up her freezer without a second thought. When friends recently offered to bring a takeaway, she honestly preferred to rustle up a quick Thai green curry, not out of discipline, but because that’s simply who she is now.
That’s the real goal. Not willpowering your way through another diet, but changing the behaviours underneath so healthier choices become instinctive.
Taking back control, your way
Colette’s story shows what’s possible when you stop fighting food and start understanding it. That’s exactly what Slimpod is designed to help you do, using a short daily audio and practical guidance to shift your relationship with food so looking after yourself stops feeling like a battle.
If you’d like to feel more in control around food, whatever life is throwing at you, you can try Slimpod free for 10 days. Colette took back control, and you can too.
Frequently asked questions
How long did it take Colette to lose four stone?
Colette lost four stone in under a year, and importantly she did it while going through chemotherapy. What mattered most to her wasn’t the speed, though, but that she felt strong and in control throughout, and that the changes have lasted for years since
Can Slimpod help with binge eating?
Many people find it helps them feel far less driven by the urge to binge, because it works on the thinking and habits underneath rather than relying on willpower. Colette went from eating through a dozen bags of crisps in one sitting to being able to leave an open packet alone. That said, if bingeing feels overwhelming or impossible to stop, do seek support from a qualified professional too.
Is it safe to try to lose weight during cancer treatment?
That’s very much a question for your own medical team, as every diagnosis and treatment plan is different. Colette’s weight loss happened as a result of nourishing herself well and staying active with her consultants’ encouragement, rather than any kind of restrictive diet. Always follow the guidance of the professionals looking after you.
Why does dieting leave people so afraid of failure?
Because years of trying and “failing” teach your brain to expect the same outcome again. In my survey of 4,000 former dieters, fear of failure was one of the biggest psychological leftovers from dieting, and it’s often what drives self-sabotage. Understanding that fear is the first step to breaking free of it.
