What if losing weight gave you the confidence to do something you’d never dreamed was possible?
Abseiling down a 100-metre tower when you’re terrified of heights, deadlifting 100kg after being unable to walk comfortably,or discovering a love of running and completing seven half marathons.
These aren’t imaginary goals. They’re real achievements by three wonderful women in our Slimpod community, and their stories show something I’ve learnt in more than 15 years of helping people change their relationship with food – The most exciting part of weight loss isn’t always what you lose, it’s what you gain. Confidence, energy, freedom, and that wonderful feeling of believing in yourself again.
Let me introduce you to Helen, Penny, and Rachael.
Helen's weight loss success story: From 20 stone to abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower
Helen had been on and off diets since she was 15, when she weighed around nine stone and already believed she was fat.
Forty-five years later, she started 2026 weighing 20 stone. With her 60th birthday approaching, she made herself a list of things she wanted to do before turning 60.
Underneath all those goals was something much more important – she wanted to learn to love herself.
Helen was tired of the weekly weigh-ins, the guilt, and the familiar cycle of being ‘good’ at the beginning of the week, having a Friday takeaway, and writing off the weekend.
Sound familiar?
In February, she discovered Slimpod and decided to try something different, and then she set herself an extraordinary challenge.
Helen is terrified of heights. So naturally, she decided to abseil down Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower! To take part, she needed to weigh no more than 18 stone.
Despite family health worries and work stress, Helen kept listening to her Slimpod audio every morning. She had wobbles, of course, but gradually began feeling calmer and more in control around food.
When she reached 18 stone, she booked the abseil. On 5th September, she did it!
Helen has lost 36lb, gone from a size 28 to a size 22 and abseiled 100 metres down one of Portsmouth’s most famous landmarks. She personally raised £510 for charity, with the event raising more than £12,000 in total.
But my favourite part?
Helen said she could hear Trevor’s voice encouraging her all the way down. “You can do this.”
And she did. ❤️
Penny's weight loss journey: From struggling to walk to lifting 100kg
Penny’s story is quite extraordinary.
A 62-year-old GP, she’d struggled with her weight for much of her life. She’d lost weight through exercise and sheer determination before, but whenever life became difficult, the weight crept back, and life had certainly become difficult.
A serious injury, starting a business, studying for a PhD, and caring for her elderly mother had left her exhausted.
Food became a way of coping with stress, and her weight eventually rose above 145kg. Then Penny caught COVID and developed double pneumonia. With asthma making things even more difficult, she struggled to breathe and even short walks became exhausting.
She knew something had to change, so she started small. Chair aerobics, yoga, then dancing, cycling, and eventually the gym.
But Penny also recognised that she needed to address something deeper – her emotional relationship with food, and that’s when she discovered Slimpod.
She admits she was sceptical at first, but then something happened that made her realise her relationship with food was changing. One day, Penny was standing in a food court, surrounded by things she’d previously have found irresistible, and she simply didn’t want any of them. Not because she was forcing herself to resist, the desire just wasn’t there.
For Penny, that was a turning point.
Today, she’s lost more than 70kg across her wider weight-loss journey and is training as a powerlifter. She’s deadlifting 100kg, squatting 75kg, and even tackling Tour de France climbs on her indoor bike.
What I love most is that Penny has discovered how to make healthier habits feel like the easier, more natural choice, and she’s having an enormous amount of fun doing it!
Rachael's weight loss success story: Seven half marathons and a whole new confidence
Rachael’s story began with a decision that even she might have thought was slightly mad – she signed up for a half marathon completely on a whim.
She really struggled through that run, however, instead of deciding running wasn’t for her, she caught the bug.
As her weight came down, she began enjoying exercise more and more. Her confidence grew, and she started challenging herself in ways she’d never imagined.
Today, Rachael has completed seven half marathons and several 10k races, many of them raising money for charity. She’s even discovered a love of rugby!
Here’s the bit that really makes me smile. Rachael is now encouraging a love of exercise within her school, helping others discover the enjoyment she’s found herself.
She also says she’s simply happier all round. That’s what happens when looking after yourself becomes something you genuinely enjoy, rather than something you feel you have to do.
What do these three weight loss success stories have in common?
Helen, Penny, and Rachael have very different stories, but there’s something important connecting them.
They didn’t simply focus on a number on the scales. They began building healthier habits, discovering what they were capable of, and finding new confidence in themselves.
That’s something I feel incredibly passionate about, because after years of dieting, so many people have lost something far more precious than their confidence around food. They’ve lost confidence in themselves.
They’ve stopped believing they can change. They’ve put things off until they’re slimmer. They’ve told themselves they’ll start living properly when they reach their goal weight.
But you don’t have to wait until you’ve lost weight to start believing in yourself, and you certainly don’t have to spend your life fighting food!
Why Slimpod takes a different approach to weight loss
Most weight-loss programmes focus on telling you what to do, what to eat, what to avoid, and what to count, but knowing what to do doesn’t always change what you feel like doing.
That’s why Slimpod focuses on the automatic habits and responses behind eating behaviour. Our neuroscience-based behavioural programme uses a specially developed language system, based on subconscious priming, designed to help healthier choices begin to feel more natural.
With nine minutes of daily audio listening, alongside practical guidance and support, Slimpod helps people work towards a different relationship with food, without restrictive dieting or calorie counting.
And when food stops taking up quite so much space in your head, just imagine what else you might find room for, a new hobby, a new adventure, a new confidence in yourself, or perhaps simply the freedom to enjoy your life without constantly worrying about your weight.
What could your weight loss success story look like?
I don’t know what your equivalent of Helen’s abseil, Penny’s deadlift, or Rachael’s half marathon might be.
Perhaps it’s wearing something you’ve been hiding at the back of your wardrobe, perhaps it’s joining a dance class, going swimming, or finally feeling comfortable in photographs, or perhaps it’s simply waking up and feeling good about yourself.
Whatever it is, I want you to know that change is possible, and you don’t have to wait until you’ve reached a particular number on the scales to begin.
I’m so proud of these three remarkable women, and who knows what you might be celebrating this time next year?
If you’re ready to explore a different way of losing weight and changing your relationship with food, try Slimpod free for 10 days.
Frequently asked questions about weight loss success stories
Can you lose weight without following a restrictive diet?
Weight loss doesn’t necessarily require a restrictive diet or calorie counting. Sustainable changes to eating habits, activity and everyday behaviours can support weight management. Slimpod focuses on helping people change their automatic eating habits and relationship with food rather than following rigid food rules.
How can changing your mindset help with weight loss?
Mindset influences self-belief, motivation and how you respond to setbacks. Developing greater confidence and recognising unhelpful eating patterns can make it easier to build healthier habits. Mindset is one part of weight management, alongside biological, environmental and lifestyle factors.
Can emotional eating habits change?
Yes. Emotional eating patterns can change through greater awareness of triggers, learning alternative coping strategies and developing different responses to stress or difficult emotions. Behavioural support can help people work towards a healthier relationship with food.
What makes Slimpod different from traditional weight-loss programmes?
Slimpod uses a neuroscience-based behavioural approach rather than restrictive meal plans or calorie counting. Its specially developed language system, delivered through nine-minute daily audio, is designed to influence automatic eating responses, alongside practical support for developing healthier habits. Individual results vary.
