Charlotte wanted to lose weight without the fad diets – ‘I now feel sexy!’

Name: Charlotte Sumpter
Age: 20
Weight Lost: Lost 4 st in 11 months

Charlotte is a full time Mum from Kent. Prior to the birth of her son she had been extremely active and took pride in her body. However, 9 months pregnancy took its toll on her hour glass figure until she pushed herself to do something about it. Within months she had turned it around, losing a whopping four stone. We met Charlotte at her local mother and toddler group to find out just how she did it.

So Charlotte, how much weight did you actually lose and what was your motivation?

My son was born in August 2008. At that time, I weighed around 16 stone and nearing the end of my pregnancy. I just wanted to lose it naturally, without the fads or the fancy diets. I wanted to feel as good as I did before. Once I was given the all clear from my doctor, I started to exercise again and slowly but steadily began to increase the level of physical activity. I now weigh 10 and a half stone and feel great.

I know it’s quite cliché but I used a number of fitness DVDs and soon started to shift the pounds. I don’t mean tacky, cheesy celeb style DVDs. I am not even sure who the lady was, but she worked for me.

There is a lot of hoo har at the minute about celebrity Mums losing weight too quickly. Did this affect your decision?

I wasn’t looking to be stick thin. The likes of Victoria Beckham are too thin and it must be dangerous for her and her kids. I just wanted to tone my abs and bottom and I had a six-pack before having my baby so I obviously wanted that back.

I stopped breastfeeding after seven months. By then I had lost almost two and a half stone! I continued with the DVDs and made sure I ate healthy, small meals. The weight loss did slow down a little but I stuck at it and more and more weight came off. I am now a size 14 in trousers, and a size 10 in tops. I feel and look sexy and it’s all because I had a target- in my opinion this is key to losing weight.

I think we can take from this you are not a Victoria Beckham fan?

No, don’t get me wrong I like her music. I think she wears the best clothes and always looks good, but I don’t really follow the whole celeb body thing. Although I have read a number of celeb success stories that have involved post-pregnancy diets, I don’t agree with them and just relied on regular exercise. I have read a number of so-called success stories involving crash diets. Victoria apparently gets rid of her post baby fat (or what she would call fat) through dieting. But like I said, I think it’s dangerous.

Well you certainly look good, do you have any tips for our customers?

If you are looking to slim down and tone your body then the following tips may be useful:

1. Slowly bring your stomach size down by reducing the sizes of your meals.
2. When eating a meal, stop halfway through it, wait a minute and see if you really need to eat the rest. This might sound a little odd but I often found that my eyes were bigger than my belly.
3. Eat lots of fruit!
4. Drink plenty of water as it will keep your bowls moving, your skin healthy and keep your hunger at bay.
5. Remember to have a big meal at breakfast and to reduce the size of your meals.
6. Never get too hungry because this will often lead to over eating.
7. Walk places instead of getting the bus or driving. Swimming is also very good for getting rid of post pregnancy flab. It tones you up.