It took a viral video that led to "hurtful" comments for Zanee Johnson to finally get on top of her struggles with weight. She had tried countless diet plans over the years, but nothing stuck.
She had always been insecure about her weight. A mental health struggle during lockdown saw her reach her biggest size.
Zanee would have McDonald's breakfasts and takeaways regularly, ballooning to 18st. She said it left her hating herself and feeling "disgusted" when she looked in the mirror.
In May 2022, Zanee, 39, got stuck in a giant deckchair at a Haven holiday park. The video, which also featured her mum, Susan Thompson, of her struggling to get out went viral online, amassing two million views, reports the M.E.N.
Many found the video amusing, but Zanee also received hundreds of upsetting comment about her weight. It was the push she needed to join a slimming group and lose two stone in just two months.
“We went to a caravan park in Haven and they had these big deck chairs,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “We decided to sit in it and have a picture taken.
“As we went to get out, we struggled – but I think anyone would struggle! It was really hurtful because we’d not long been out of lockdown - I’d suffered with mental health through it like a lot of people did.
“A company approached me and asked if they could share [the video]. It just went viral. It was mad. I went into the school playground to drop my son off and the teachers said they had been laughing at me.
“The majority did find it funny but I did get the nasty comments saying ‘They shouldn’t be so fat’. You’re going to get people who are nasty. I just had to take it on the shoulders and do something about it.”
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Zanee, from Northwich in Cheshire, joined Beeweighed in late January 2023 with a goal of losing five stone. She's lost two stone so far and now weighs just over 15 stone, going from a dress size 22 to a 16.
The sales support assistant says her weight loss success comes down to calorie counting, cutting out alcohol, drinking three litres of water a day and swimming.
“I was having around two takeaways a week,” she added. “I hated myself. I looked in the mirror and felt disgusted, but it was a vicious circle. I felt so down about myself that I turned to food as a comfort.
“I’m feeling really good at the moment. I still have a long way to go, I still want to lose maybe another three stone.”
Zanee's diet before her weight loss:
Breakfast
McDonald's breakfast including a double sausage and egg McMuffin and two hash browns
Lunch
Cheese and onion on toast with extra toast
Snacks
Chocolate or crisps
Tea
Chicken dinner with broccoli cheese, cauliflower cheese and Yorkshire puddings
Zanee's diet now:
Breakfast
Kingsmill 50/50 crust-less bread with half a tin of baked beans
Lunch
Chicken salad with sweet chili sauce
Snacks
Toast thins with low-fat cream cheese, grapes or strawberries, protein puddings
Tea
Chili con carne, measuring out the rice and being careful with portion sizes
