SOMEONE emailed the other day to ask what we meant on our website when we described the Slimpod as being about “holistic wellbeing.” Surely, it’s just a way of losing weight, she wrote.
And that made me think of Slimpodder Chris Archer, a fabulous lady who at the age of 70 is thrilled that Slimpod has enriched her life in ways she never dreamed possible.
Listening to her pods every day has helped lift the darkest of moods, driven away her self-limiting beliefs and transformed her into a happy, confident person who sees only the positive side of life.
Controlling her weight has become almost a secondary target – her emotional wellbeing is far more important to her.
She loves recording her daily Slimpod wins – and is especially proud of the fact that she’s been able to throw away her biscuit tin!
Chris’s story is so inspiring that I asked her to join me over Zoom because I know her uplifting message will be of huge help to so many other people.
A wonderful lifelong career in nursing came with a price: emotional and physical stress and unhelpful eating patterns. The answer for Chris, as with so many people, was found in sweet things.
She built up a link between her emotions and sugar – she loved nothing more than a large bag of Pic and Mix – and the results were inevitable.
Here’s the video we made together:
Chris tells in the video how she took up running when she was 60 and found this and a slimming club helped her to control her weight – although she didn’t enjoy the pressure she felt under not to put on weight between meetings.
She was constantly weighing herself and worrying about everything she ate or drank. The stress was so great that she even stopped going out with her husband for meals because she felt unable to control herself.
Then one day she was dealt a series of blows, including an injury to her heels, which badly affected both her mental and physical wellbeing.
“My old habits returned and my emotions were all over the place,” she says. “I was bursting into tears for no apparent reason, getting annoyed, angry, moaning about everything and everybody and generally being a pain.
“I thoroughly disliked myself and started to have some dark thoughts and couldn’t see a happy future. I was petrified of getting old and couldn’t see a way to get myself out of this ‘black hole.’
The day Chris discovered Slimpod
“Then one Sunday I was in bed with my iPad and a Slimpod advert popped up. As soon as I started reading it I felt positive that it could help me.
“I joined up immediately and was amazed at how easy it felt to get started. I felt motivated from day one and threw myself into the programme.
“Within a few days my mood lifted and within a couple of weeks I felt an emotion I hadn’t felt for a long time – I actually felt happy!
“It felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and the future suddenly started to look brighter. The changes have been positive – I feel calmer and I can sit quietly and read (not always rushing around like a hamster on a wheel).
“My emotional health has definitely improved in so many ways I didn’t think possible a few weeks ago. I look forward to every day when I open my notebook with my ‘habit checker’ list and start ticking them off.
“I have found the whole ethos of Slimpod is one of support, encouragement, understanding, non-judgemental and embracing. I’m really thankful I didn’t flick past the Slimpod advert that Sunday morning.
“Today I’m more comfortable around food, I’ve ditched the low fat foods and love the challenges and tips we members get from Slimpod. My self-limiting beliefs are not going to hold me back and I feel more positive about the future.
“I would say to any older person, don’t let age be a barrier to stopping you from changing your ingrained habits and achieving things.”
Live chat tonight about Summer Food Guilt
Join me live tonight (August 10) at 7.30pm UK time on the Slimpod for weight loss page when I chat about Summer Food Guilt – and there’s plenty of self-limiting beliefs involved in that! On the Facebook page search #livechat24.
I’m also hosting the usual Live in Slimpod Club tomorrow night (August 11) and I’ll be doing a Q&A for anyone who needs to ask a question or needs some help.
And finally, I’m over on Instagram too so please follow me on there and say hello!
Please leave a comment below to let Chris and myself know how much you’ve been inspired by her story. Remember, all comments are moderated so they may not be visible straight away.
8 thoughts on “Here’s the most uplifting Slimpod story I’ve seen in a long time”
Hi I’m Mary I have been a slimpodder for a while now and started off really well but unfortunately seem to have got the craving for biscuits again even though I still listen to the pods everyday but reading how well Chris has done has really given me the push I needed to get going again Very well done Chris and thank you for sharing your brilliant success [ I am 78 but never too old to improve my health] Thanks again Mary Lowe
Hi Chris I enjoyed listening to your journey and found it very inspiring , I’m also a young 70 this month and have been a yo yo dieter since I started with early menopause in my early 40s. My problem i know is lack of excercise which i must get my head around, im going to start with LWR 7 mins you have inspired me to do. Good luck for the future.
You rock, Chris!
Amazing and so inspiring so well done to you!!
I am now 74 years old and yo yo dieted all my life losing weight and then of course regaining it and more on some occasions.
I also had a long nursing career and the shift patterns and long hours played havoc with any diet I was on.
I absolutely love slimpod too and I know this is the only way to change my relationship with food and once you do that it is almost effortless. I have had a couple of hiccoughs during my journey, even stopping for a while but always being drawn back. I now feel fully in control and I used to be a sweetaholic, preferring sweets to meals on occasions!!! Now I am proud to say I can walk down a confectionery aisle in supermarkets and not be tempted or even crave sweets. This is my biggest win to date!!!
I’ve a long way to go but after your inspirational story I know I can do it too!! Thank you and thank Slimpod!!
Thanks Chris for this, it was so nice to hear how this has helped you as an older person, I’m coming up to my 60th birthday and was beginning to think I would never be happy with myself again but since starting Slimpod 2 weeks ago I can definitely see a difference in my attitude to food and I feel so much more comfortable in myself, I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.
Very inspiring and supportive interview
when I came to Slimpod 2 weeks ago I was wondering whether this was for me. I am 73 and have dieted all my life since the time of the mini skirt and Twiggi. This story is very encouraging to all older dieters. I just could not get into the mentality of dieting any more. I have Pulmonary Hypertension on the right side and there is no cure just mainenance and I was advised to get the weight off, which I just could not do.
I have lost 2 kilo’s and it has spurred me on. So thank you for your story and good luck on your journey.
Chris has been inspiring, I know exactly what she meant about slimming world, and how she would wear the same thing to meetings each weigh in. I’ve been there and done that as well. I’m going to start the 10 day trial and see how this works for me. Thank you Chris for being a champion for the older women