A woman has claimed that deleting Facebook was the secret to her 5st lockdown weight loss.
Brenda Finn, 33, said that she’d always “been a bit chubby” but saw her size grow to a size 22 between 2016 and 2019 due to unhealthy eating habits.
When she hit 15.5st in August of last year the candlemaker decided to change her life.
And, she blamed social media for her inability to shed the pounds or stay healthy claiming constant posts and adverts about unhealthy food were to blame.
The self confessed social media addict went cold-turkey so she had “no excuses”.
Brenda went on to delete Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – suddenly her weight began to plummet.
Now, having lost more than a third of her body weight, Brenda is a healthy 9st 10lb.
And, she thinks that if she hadn’t deleted social media she would not have succeeded.
Brenda, from Woolside Park, north London, said: “When I realised how distracting Facebook and Instagram were from my progress, I shut off from it all.
“That was a pinnacle point for me – it was hard to say goodbye to my social media but it was the best decision I ever made.
“I’d struggled to lose even a couple of pounds before then but as soon as I ditched them, I saw the weight dropping off.
“Now, 5st down, I can’t believe how good I feel – I’m fitter, I eat a healthy diet and I feel so much more alive.”
The super slimmer had struggled with her weight since she was a teenager and her diet consisted of mountains of junk food – such as pints of sugary milkshakes and endless bags of crisps every day.
She would even eat whole sharebags of Haribo sweets every day for breakfast.
Brenda noted: “I remember looking in the mirror and thinking “Oh sh*t, how have I got this big?”
Even after taking up exercise she found it hard to give up snacking, but soon realised her social media was the trigger.
Brenda commented: “Scrolling down my feed I’d see endless cakes, ice cream, sugary drinks and pizzas.
“It was constant subliminal messaging telling me to go and have a snack.
“As soon as I realised what was happening, I realised what I needed to do “
Brenda educated herself on calories and began to eat healthy – and lost weight within a week.
Typical day before
- Breakfast – A bag of Haribo and a large coffee with two sugars
- Lunch – A homemade milkshake or a sausage roll
- Snacks – Medium bag mixed nuts and dried fruits or large chocolate milkshake and homemade cake or cookies
- Dinner – Pasta with tomato and meat sauce
- Night Snacks – digestive biscuits, a bar of milk chocolate, crisps
Typical day now
- Breakfast – Cold brew coffee, Protein shake or overnight oats mix with fruit
- Snack – rice cakes
- Lunch – Large egg mayonnaise and salad wholemeal roll
- Snacks – dark chocolate, handful of cashew nuts
- Dinner – Omelette and salad.
- Snacks – Two Jaffa cakes
By May 2021 the determined slimmer hit 11st and a few months later she reached a size 12 at 9st 10lb.
Brenda commented: “This has totally changed my mindset towards food, exercise and my body.
“Now, I wake up every day and I just feel so light and alive – I never realised I felt heavy before but looking back, I feel like a different person.
“Deleting my social media was the best decision I ever made – it helped me lose 5st!”
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