A nurse and part-time carer has revealed how she’s dropped two dress sizes in six months after her ADHD diagnosis helped her understand her eating habits.
Becky Cheetham was diagnosed with ADHD over a year ago which helped her to understand her over indulging tendencies.
After joining the Goal Getters meal plan by MuscleFood, the 30 year old from Manchester has seen the pounds slip away and has learnt how to control her eating.
Becky cares for her sister Hannah who has cerebral palsy. During lockdown the siblings created TikTok and Instagram accounts which have grown to 2 million followers under their account @cheethamswithdreams.
The sisters set up the account to act like a bucket list – they wanted to tick off some of their goals whilst posting them on TikTok to share some positive news during a challenging time.
During that time Becky also saw the pounds pile on, reaching her biggest size, a size 22, it was then when she began to feel self conscious.
Growing up, Becky was always aware she had bigger hips and curves just like the rest of her family – but it wasn’t until she was older that she began to feel uncomfortable in her body.
Now, after six months on MuscleFood’s Goal Getters meal plans, Becky has dropped from a size 22 to 18.
Becky said: “I just got to a point in lockdown where I felt self conscious and uncomfortable within myself.
“Everyone in my family is on the curvier side so it never bothered me until I got older and was around other people really.
“I would say in lockdown I reached my biggest weight and that’s when I realised I needed to do something about this. It wasn’t about the number on the scales, it was about how I felt.
“Being a size 22 isn’t bad, I’m someone who’s been at both ends of the scale and has still felt uncomfortable! It all comes down to just feeling unhealthy so I needed to find something to tackle that feeling.
“After I was diagnosed with ADHD last year, my eating habits began to make a lot of sense. I used to find myself fixating on something. If I fancied a chocolate bar for example, I wouldn’t just have one, I would over indulge which is a symptom of ADHD.
“It works both ways too, sometimes I wouldn’t eat all day because I wasn’t hungry. Then at about four in the afternoon I would just binge eat.”
After starting Goal Getters, Becky saw her relationship with food begin to change. Each week, Goal Getters provides pre-portioned and calorie controlled meals and snacks straight to the door.
Meals include the Beef Ragu & Tagliatelle Pot and the Sausage, Bean and Potato Pot as well as snacks such as MuscleFood’s Chocolate Fudge Protein Cookie and the Peperami Salami and Cheese Snack box.
Becky continued:“I have tried so many diets and had no willpower but with Goal Getters I have no excuse with everything delivered straight to the door.
“A lot of other programmes like this only offer one meal a day, which is usually dinner. That meant that I was eating whatever I wanted in the day and then relying on that one meal in the evening which just isn’t going to work.
“It’s common with ADHD to forget to eat, so Goal Getters is perfect, everything would show up at my door at the start of the week, right down to the snacks!
“All I had to do was set my alarm for a specific time so when it would go off, it reminded me it’s time to go and make the meal already pre portioned for me.
“I’m also realistic with myself too and I don’t want to completely restrict myself, I’m a chocolate person, and so the fact that my little chocolate fix was provided for me was really important – it feels like a guilt free treat along the way.”
Becky used a personal trainer and began to walk a lot more alongside the Goal Getter meal plan and lost two inches from her waist, hips and chest within six months, completely recompositioning her body.
She said: “I’m someone who likes to start both things at once – diet and exercise. But I also know what works for me and I just wouldn’t have been able to jump straight into hardcore workouts. I started off making little yet effective changes like walking to my destinations instead of driving before starting my PT sessions.
“I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself so I try to be realistic in everything I do. I want to prove to people that it’s achievable.
“I’d love to drop another dress size by Christmas. But again, I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, I feel so confident in myself and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come already.”
A spokesperson at Goal Getters said: “Becky’s done amazing over the last six months and she’s seen her body completely change. She’s been realistic with her goals – which is so important – and she’s seen her body go through a period of recomposition.
This means she’s replaced the excess weight with muscle which makes her physically and mentally stronger, and she has seen the inches fall away.”
Here are Becky’s top three tips for others looking to start their weight loss journey:
- Be committed to the change – if you’re not passionate about making this change in your life then it will feel much more difficult.
- Do it for yourself – you won’t really commit to the hard work if you’re trying to please other people around you.
- Have everything prepared – this is often the hardest part, but having everything pre portioned with Goal Getters gives you no excuse when it comes to giving your body the right foods.
