This week we meet Laura Barker, a 25-year-old single mum who lives in Croydon with her two daughters, Sophie, 5, and 6-month-old Rebecca. Laura is 5’5” and weighs 21 stone 3 lbs, making her morbidly obese and the top of the scale at that.
Laura’s problem is that she never cooks. The whole family lives off takeaways and eat no fresh food at all, a habit that is jeopardizing the health of them all – both her daughters are already twice the weight they should be for their age, and five year old Sophie has already developed an alarming fondness for doner kebabs. Laura’s other vice is diet cola. She drinks nearly 50 glasses every week, downing many of these while she’s watching telly in bed at night.
Laura’s mother is so concerned for her daughter’s health that she has secretly nominated her for the McKeith treatment. Gillian gets straight to work and shows Laura all the food she eats and all the cola she drinks in a week.
Shocked into action Laura agrees to make some changes. She has been feeling depressed since moving into her knew home after her new baby was born and has piled on weight. Gillian is confident she can help and shows her the good food table.
Laura makes a good start and feels the benefits of giving up cola straight away but she is still not drinking enough water. To encourage her to drink more, Gillian delivers a water cooler so she can monitor her intake. Laura also needs to step up the exercise, so she joins a gym and discovers a new passion for working out.
After eight weeks Gillian is back and amazed at the difference in Laura. She is positively glowing after losing an impressive 2 ½ stone and 15 inches from her waist. She has more energy for the kids and feels healthier and happier. She knows people can see she looks better on the outside but wishes people could feel how good she feels on the inside.
