I spent £10k in a YEAR on takeaways like Kerry Katona – I would even eat burgers for breakfast
A NEW mum lost seven stone after she ditched her up to £800 a month fast food habit when doctors said she might not live to see her daughter grow up.
Lillie Monro, 24, always struggled with her weight and would often have a takeaway burger for breakfast - as well as fast food for lunch and dinner.
Her habit saw her reach 21st just before daughter Mila, two, was born, and a doctor warned the new mum she might not see her baby grow up.
Weighing 19st 1lb, and with her newborn baby in her arms, she pledged to change, and swapped her takeouts for salads and gave up the massive bags of sweets.
She shrank 7st in a year, going from a size 22-24 to a 10-12, and now weighs a healthy 12st.
She no longer spends £150-200 a week on fast food, her food bills have halved, and she can climb the stairs without getting out of breath.
Lillie, an MOT, service and repairs adviser from Halstead, Essex said: “I literally lost a whole person worth of weight.
“My GP told me I wouldn't see my daughter grow up so I knew I had to make rapid changes.
“I don’t think I’d have been able to do it if she hadn’t said that and I didn't have Mila.
“I really enjoy just playing with her now: I wasn't able to do that before.
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“I didn’t do any exercise, just Slimming World.
“I actually really enjoyed it.
“I could still eat really big portions.
“I just changed the amounts of different foods so I was eating more of the right things and less of others, and cooked from scratch.
“At first I thought of it as a diet, but actually it’s a lifestyle change and that’s why it’s still working.”
As a 17-stone teen, Lillie said she didn’t like to go shopping with her friends, and first went to Slimming World aged 12 or 13.
She tried other diets too, but always found she put the weight back on afterwards, she said.
I literally lost a whole person worth of weight.
Lillie Monro
Lillie weighed 21st just before little Mila, now two, was born in February 2019, and 19st 1 shortly after.
The new mum was so uncomfortable about her weight she wouldn’t go out to the shops, or with her friends, and wouldn’t eat meals out, she said.
She went to her GP and was given medication for depression and anxiety, when Mila was three months old, in May 2019.
The female doctor told the mum her weight put her at risk of diabetes, heart failure, and other health risks, and she might not see her baby grow up, she said.
New-mum Lillie had feared losing little Mila when she was taken into neonatal intensive care with suspected sepsis just hours after being born, she said.
My GP told me I wouldn't see my daughter grow up so I knew I had to make rapid changes.
Lillie Monro
“You don’t expect your doctor to tell you you’re going to pop your clogs, but I’m so glad she did”, said Lillie.
“That was my wake-up call.
“When she said it, it reminded me of that fear of loss when Mila was in intensive care: it was so awful, really dreadful.
“I went home from the GP and cried my eyes out then decided to make changes.
“I knew I was big, I'd always eaten badly, but when she said it I looked and was surprised at how big I'd got.
“I craved junk-food all the time: and you’re always hungry after eating it so you have more.
“I don’t know how I afforded it.”
Like Lillie, Kerry Katona recently admitted she was "mortified" as her five kids had lived on takeaways for six MONTHS.
Lillie adds: “I was the real-life Kerry Katona I was equally mortified when I realised this was the example I was setting for my child.
“If I’d had to wear a suit made from our household rubbish like Kerry did it would have been made of pizza boxes and burger packets, that would have felt so humiliating.
“It's easy to feel shamed by your fast-food habits, like Kerry and I did, but actually fast food is very addictive and it’s everywhere: promising you an easy life.
“It’s not good for you though, and cooking is really fun as well as so much better for you.”
To kickstart her healthy habits Lillie, who was too self-conscious to go out, researched Slimming World and bought second-hand books online.
She weighed herself weekly, sharing her journey, recipes and ideas with other slimmers on Instagram.
Lillie got down to 12 stone in a year, and has maintained that weight ever since, she said.
Lillie used to enjoy tucking in to a few sharing bags of Haribo and a couple of family dairy-milk bars, while curled up in bed watching TV.
She’d have junk-food treats like greasy pizza, or massive burger with fries, for lunch and/or dinner at least five days a week: costing between £150 and £200 she said.
She’d have a cheese burger, a bacon butty or a big bar of chocolate for breakfast, but can't stand fried food now, she said.
Lillie, who has reclaimed her enjoyment of going out, eats only two courses instead of her previous three.
She loves a salad or a grilled shish, she added.
I craved junk-food all the time: and you’re always hungry after eating it so you have more.
Lillie Monro
Mostly Lillie likes to eat at home now: cooking her own favourites such as curry or Chinese fake-away: spending around £50 to £60 a week.
She said: “I’m just really, really happy now.
“Variety was so important: if you stick to the same stuff you get so bored of it.
“Bothering to cook for myself was key.
“I’ve been saving so much money towards a mortgage, but first I enjoyed buying new clothes."
"I don't think I'd have been able to do this if it wasn't for Mila," the proud mum said.
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