Emma Swindels’ daily routine used to revolve around convenience foods — bacon sandwiches for breakfast, supermarket meal deals for lunch, and pizza or chicken nuggets for dinner. Weighing over 22st (140kg), she struggled with basic tasks like climbing stairs or playing with her kids, and felt trapped in her own body.
The turning point came when she deleted the Uber Eats app from her phone. Over the next 18 months, the 41-year-old lost an incredible 9st (57kg) and gained a new lease on life, even finding the confidence to wear a bikini on holiday.
Emma, a mum-of-three from Easington, County Durham, told Sun Health: “I was so large, I didn’t even want to go to the shops. I was embarrassed and relied on Uber Eats for every meal, even a pint of milk. I’d order £20 worth of shopping just to avoid going out.”
Her weight gain escalated after giving birth to her son Daniel in 2020 and splitting from her partner. “I comfort ate after my relationship ended and gained 10st in just three years,” she said. “I’d devour three bags of crisps and cheese in an evening. Crisps were my downfall.”
Daily life had become a struggle. “I couldn’t even climb stairs without getting out of breath, and walking to the kitchen after meals left me drenched in sweat,” she recalled. “Even my mum noticed I’d sweat doing nothing.”
Emma’s diet was mostly processed and ready-to-eat foods. While her children ate healthily, she opted for meals that required little effort and often spent £100–£150 a week on deliveries. “I never went out; everyone came to me instead. I was too heavy to take Daniel to the park or get down on the floor to play with him. We never went on holiday — I didn’t want to leave the house,” she said.
Her wake-up call came in December 2023, when she was bed-bound on Christmas Day due to illness — something she attributes to her weight. “I had tonsillitis, an ear infection, and a cold. If I hadn’t been so overweight, I may have recovered quicker and spent Christmas with my children.”
Determined to change, Emma joined Slimming World in January 2024. She adopted a structured diet with home-cooked meals: scrambled eggs with bacon and cherry tomatoes for breakfast, tuna or ham and egg salads for lunch, and chicken stir-fries, curries, or spaghetti bolognese for dinner. Snacks were limited to berries, yogurt, bananas, or Hi-Fi bars.
“I was determined to cook from scratch instead of relying on processed food,” she said. “I also started going to the gym twice a week, now four times for resistance training. Cooking from scratch was easier than I expected, and I learned which foods were right or wrong.”
The results were dramatic. Emma hit her 9st target, weighing 13st 6lb (85kg). “I feel like a different person,” she said. “I’ve still got a little way to go — my goal is 13st — but now I’m out of the house instead of stuck inside. This summer, I took the kids to Center Parcs and even swam in a bikini for the first time. It felt amazing.”
She credits her Slimming World group for guidance and support, and says deleting Uber Eats was the most important step. “I’ve not only ditched the app, but I’ve also ditched 9st,” she added.
