Exclusive:
A fishmonger was so horrified when he was asked to get off the Harry Potter ride during his dream holiday to Florida that he made major life changes once he returned home
Fishmonger Steven Little had struggled with his weight since childhood but a dream trip to Florida was the “wake-up call” that finally inspired him to change his lifestyle and shed 6st. In 2016, Steven, who weighed 20st 10lb, found himself unable to fit on the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios and was asked to get off.
“I’d always wanted to go to Florida and all the big theme parks. But when I got on the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios. I pulled at the harness and immediately thought ‘this won’t fasten,” says the 40-year-old. “Despite yanking and pulling at it, it would not budge, and I just couldn’t get it to click into place. I was so embarrassed when I was asked to leave the ride.”
Stephen, from Norwich, was overwhelmed by his old feelings of insecurity about his weight from his younger years. “I always felt like the odd one out, like I didn’t fit in or wasn’t good enough, and that all came flooding back. I was determined to make a change for good after that.”
That moment of heartbreak, however, was the spur he needed to gain control of his life. Yet whenever he’d tried to diet in the past he never found the discipline to stick with them and initially expected with the support, the outcome would remain the same.
“My experiences of trying to lose weight had always involved restricting myself, which I could never sustain for long. I’d always go back to how I’d been eating before and end up putting on even more weight,” says Steven, 40.
He turned to Slimming World, fearing that it would be the same. “But as soon as my consultant Karen told me I’d be able to eat my favourite foods like steak and chips and still lose weight, I was hooked,” he says.
“I went away that week and made simple changes like choosing lean meat and not cooking in oil. I ate real, hearty meals and wondered if it was too good to be true. In my first week I lost 8lbs and I couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, I can actually do this.
“I soon realised my group was somewhere I was made to feel accepted too, and that other people there had the exact struggles I did. Being around like-minded people helped me to lift the feelings of guilt and shame I felt, and this change in mindset was the reason that, this time, everything clicked into place.”
Steven soon embraced Slimming world’s physical activity support programme too. “A few of the members at my Slimming World group started a walking group in Cromer and I asked if I could join them,” he says.
“We get our steps in and talk about life, and we’ve all become such good friends. Exercise always used to feel like a chore to me, but this is social time, so it doesn’t feel like that at all, and I look forward to it every week.”
His whole experience inspired him to even become a Slimming World consultant and he now supports more than 400 members at his groups each week. “I felt so passionate about Slimming World and what it did for me, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops – and still do.
“Being able to help others find the same happiness and self-belief that I have is the most rewarding job,” he says. “We’re bombarded with different weight loss methods nowadays, especially on social media. So many of these companies promise the earth, and a quick fix sounds really appealing when we’re desperate to lose weight, but it’s so important to find a way that will help you to make lasting changes that fit into your real life.
“Getting support is absolutely crucial too,” he continued, “losing weight isn’t easy – if it was so many of us wouldn’t be overweight. Slimming World gave me the tools and support to lose weight in a way that worked for me and I’m proof that you can lose weight and keep it off.”
He’s also since returned to the States to enjoy his dream holiday on his own terms. “That moment in Florida was a real wake-up call for me, but I didn’t know then how that awful experience was going to change my life forever. Being able to return and reflect on that – as well as go on every single ride – was the most amazing feeling.”
Steven’s old diet
Breakfast: Fast food sausage and egg muffin with a hash brown or a sausage bap from burger van
Lunch: Meal deal – triple sandwich, crisps and cola or sandwich on white bread with crisps.
Dinner: Take away kebab and chips, breaded chicken and oven chips or steak and chips
Snacks: Crisps, ice-cream, pork pies, sausage rolls, biscuits.
His current diet:
Breakfast: Wholemeal breakfast muffin, Slimming World sausage patties (available from Iceland, The Food Warehouse or Dunnes Stores), homemade hash brown made in the air fryer, mushrooms and onions
Lunch: Poke bowl – sushi rice, smoked salmon, pickled white slaw, roasted red peppers, pickled pink onions
Dinner: Steak with visible fat removed, Slimming World-style chips with mixed leaves, vine tomatoes, peppers and onions
Snacks: Fat-free yogurts, apples, strawberries, grapes, Hula Hoop puffs, triple chocolate high fibre cereal bar.
