Mum-of-two hits back at trolls who called her ‘fake’ after incredible 7st weight loss
Tanya dropped seven dress sizes by cutting out junk food and taking up swimming
AFTER years of gorging on kebabs, cheesy chips and fatty snacks, Tanya Derbyshire’s weight had spiralled out of control.
Her 4,000 calorie-a-day diet caused her to reach almost 18st.
But when size 22 Tanya managed to slim to a size 8 in just 16 months, she became a victim of online trolls.
Despite losing weight naturally by cutting out junk food and taking up swimming, the mum-of-two — who started blogging about her weight-loss journey to help others — was accused of faking photos of her new slim self.
More than 24,500 people had followed her transformation online.
But today Tanya is hitting back at the non-believers who tried to make her life hell.
Tanya, mum to sons Corby, four, and Rio, 16 months, says: “When I got trolled, it was a huge slap in the face but I refused to let them get the better of me.
“When I started losing weight, I felt so happy, I wanted to share it with others in the hope of helping them feel amazing too.”
Tanya’s weight had started creeping up when she was pregnant with her first child.
The trainee nutritionist says: “With both pregnancies, as my belly grew so did my backside. I stopped caring what I was putting in my mouth, fooling myself into believing I was eating for two so I could stuff twice as much and lots of treats.
I was determined to be a fit mum
“As my due date with Corby neared I really let myself go, eating up to three takeaways in a weekend and four packets of crisps a day.
“I felt disgusting but promised myself that as soon as the baby was born, I’d sign up to Slimming World.
“Between then and my next pregnancy, I tried quite a few diets. But every time I lost a bit, I’d come off the diet and end up piling more on than I’d lost.
“I mirrored the routine with my second child. I had an evening meal of a large doner kebab with cheesy chips, garlic mayo and half a litre tub of ice cream.”
But when Tanya, now 25, gave birth to Rio, she knew things had to change. She says: “I was determined to be a fit and healthy mum.
“In March last year, my weight-loss began. I started Slimming World and began eating yoghurt and fruit for breakfast and swapped a Mars bar and two packets of crisps for a mid-morning apple.
“My usual lunch of two rounds of ham sandwiches with more crisps and a full-fat Coke was ditched in favour of a small ham wholemeal roll and fruit.
“And my fatty evening meal was swapped for some chicken breasts and vegetables.
“Once a week, I also went to my local swimming pool and stayed for an hour, managing 15 slow lengths.”
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Tanya, who lives in Burnley with electrician husband Christopher Carter, 33, wanted to start blogging about her experiences.
She says: “I knew I’d need support to keep the diet up so I started ‘Tanya’s Slimming World Journey’ on Facebook.
“I created a YouTube account so I could post video tutorials.
“I soon had lots of support and encouragement — especially when I’d dropped three stone in 14 weeks. After 16 months, I’d lost 7st, a whole shoe size, my bust had shrunk from a 38F to a 32C and I was doing 75 lengths an hour in the swimming pool.
“Even the acne that I had been plagued with since my teens had vanished. I couldn’t believe how my body was changing and, it turned out, plenty of others couldn’t either."
“One day, logging on to my blog to post a new healthy meal I’d made, I felt like I’d been slapped around the face.
“Under the before and after photos I’d posted, it read: ‘It’s really unfair portraying a picture when it’s clearly not you.’
“Another read: ‘That’s not you. It’s a false image. You’re a fake.’
“I was horrified. I couldn’t believe anyone would think I was making it up and be so mean.
“The first thing I thought was to take the page down and stop doing it. I was heartbroken — especially as my pictures were very personal and far from polished.
“I’d even posted pictures of the skin swamping my tummy but people had commented on those, saying: ‘You need surgery on your stomach.’
“It was awful. After everything I had done, someone had the cheek to tell me to have surgery. But despite the criticism, I remained determined with my transformation.
“It even spurred me on to qualify as a nutritionist and set up my own weight-loss support business to help others reclaim control of their life and their waistband.”
TANYA'S DIET BEFORE
BREAKFAST: 4 slices thickly buttered white toast
LUNCH: Ham sandwiches x 4
DINNER: Large doner kebab, cheesy chips, ice cream
SNACKS: Mars bar, crisps, regular cola
Putting the trolls behind her, Tanya has continued with her healthy lifestyle.
She says: “To the haters, I want to say they won’t stop me being proud of what I’ve achieved.
“There’s nothing fake about me — I really do look this good.
“It is important to me to be real to the people bothering to support me."
TANYA'S DIET AFTER
BREAKFAST: Fruit, fat-free natural yoghurt, green tea.
LUNCH: Ham sandwich x2 on small wholemeal slices.
DINNER: Chicken breast with vegetables.
SNACKS: Fruit and Quavers
“As my waistline shrank, my confidence grew and, with so much more energy, I decided to really make a change.
“Before I lost the weight, I had been unemployed, but the confidence to get out and work came with the new me.
“I also wanted to be a lively mum to make my children proud.
“The feedback from my followers shows that I am now helping people.
“They often message me to let me know they’ve lost lots of weight following my meal plans and they want to thank me for my time.
“They are the ones I will keep doing it for — and I will just ignore the trolls.”