A woman ditched junk food and shed a whopping 10 stone after her favourite chip shop closed. Sharmayne McNally, 26, watched the weight creep on while working as a mental health support worker when she relied on quick, convenient food during long shifts.
She often turned to pre-made sandwiches from the deli bar for lunch and would devour fish and chips most evenings, alongside a diet of McDonald’s and Chinese takeaways. At her biggest, Sharmayne, a self confessed ''savoury food addict'', tipped the scales at 20 stone and was squeezing into size 20 clothing.
The turning point came in March 2020 when Sharmayne’s favourite chippy closed its doors, due to the pandemic. Unable to get anymore takeaways, it gave her the "kick" she needed to change her eating habits and shift the pounds.
She started walking 10,000 steps a day and made healthy ‘fakeaway’ versions of her favourite grub – losing eight stone on her own. When lockdown lifted, Sharmayne joined the gym and lost another two stone – shedding a total of 10 stone, almost half her body weight – dropping down to 10.5 stone and slipping into a svelte size 10.
She recently forked out £4,500 for skin removal surgery in Izmir, Turkey - where she had one to two kilograms of skin removed - as well as liposuction, from her stomach and love handles on 19 September. Sharmayne, a deputy manager for a young person’s project, from Ireland, said: “When my fave chip shop closed I didn't know what to do.
“But after a few days it really gave me the kick up the bum I needed.''
Sharmayne didn’t start to gain weight until her late teens when she left school and began working as a nursing auxiliary. Busy days and long shift meant she relied on food that was convenient and quick, something that led to her weight gain.
She said: “It was a gradual weight gain. At school I was not overly big, it was more coming into my late teens - around aged 19 and 20 - that I started to gain, but it didn’t happen overnight.
“I was lucky enough to carry the weight but not have a health problem, but it could have easily gone that way.”
She would often skip breakfast and grab a quick lunch, like a meal deal with a packet of crisps and fizzy drink. In the evening, Sharmayne would get a takeaway from her favourite chippy and gorge on evening snacks like chocolate and crisps.
In March 2020, Sharmayne was at her heaviest weight of 20 stone and a size 20. “I’d always yo-yo dieted, and tried Slimming World but it didn’t work,” she said.
“I did have issues with my self-esteem but losing the weight my whole perception from people changed, I was treated differently.”
“Before, when I was at my biggest, I sometimes couldn’t even fit into Primark clothes, which only go up to a size 20. It was at that point I knew I needed to lose the weight, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to shop there.”
When the UK went into lockdown and all takeaways closed, Sharmayne decided to make a change to her eating habits. She ditched the junk food and started making her own healthy ‘fakeaways’ – like burgers and chips.
Through her own hard work – training twice a day, every day - Sharmayne began to shed the weight. She downloaded a calorie counting app and ate 1,500 calories per day, alongside her exercise regime.
She said: “I bought some weights online and began my training, and then I started going on walks, trying to get my 10,000 steps a day in. I still ate chocolate and crisps but learnt portion control.
“You don’t have to deprive yourself to lose weight. I lost eight stone on my own, and after joining the gym in May 2021 when they re-opened, I went on to do a 12-week transformation, losing a further two stone.”
Since February 2022, Sharmayne takes part in three PT sessions a week, FF fitness, and had a transformation photoshoot with them April 2022. Two years after starting her weight loss journey, Sharmayne has slimmed down to a size 10 and said she is more confident than ever.
After the trip to Turkey for excess skin removal, Sharmayne said: “I was very nervous about flying out but also excited.
“I had quite a bit of excess skin, and the doctor said he removed between one and two kilograms. It’s so surreal now I’ve had the surgery done. I look down and it doesn’t feel like it’s my body.
"My confidence went up from losing the weight anyway, but this will only help more. It’ll be a few months until I can – I've got to wear a corset for a month – but I can’t wait to get into my first dress and see what it looks like.
“As women we all nit-pick – we all say: ‘When I’m this weight I’ll be happy.’ But I’ve got a totally different mindset since losing weight.
“If I slip up and eat badly, I don’t let a bad day become a bad week. I'm so proud of how far I've come and hopefully I can inspire others on their weight loss journey."
Follow Sharmayne’s journey on her Instagram page @sharmayneweightlossjourney.
