Radana joined Second Nature because she was tired of feeling unhealthy and trying to lose weight unsuccessfully. She was hoping the programme would help her get slimmer, fitter and more confident. She lost 6 kilos in the first 6 weeks. Ten weeks later she is down 10 kilos and continuing on her journey to long-term change! 

Why did you join Second Nature?

I wasn’t happy with my weight and lifestyle, and I knew I needed to change something. I was thinking about joining Weight Watchers, as I’d previously achieved good results with them. Then my colleague at work mentioned Second Nature – they spent the day telling me about it and that same evening I subscribed, as it looked exactly like what I was looking for.

How did you find it?

I was so excited when I received my Health Box in the post, the postman probably thought it was a very expensive Christmas present in the parcel when he saw my face! The package was very professional and impressive. I spent the pre-start days reading through the Second Nature content on the app, the handbook and recipe book.

On Monday 2nd October, the challenge started. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten porridge without sugar or any other flavouring, and in my head I thought – I will do this for five days and then never again. Two months later I am still eating porridge every day. I really enjoy it and can’t imagine breakfast without it!

The real challenge was cutting sugar out of my diet. I suspected I might be addicted to caffeine, but I didn’t realise I was addicted to sugar. The first three days I had massive headaches and had to take some painkillers to keep going and concentrate at work. I slept a lot in the night.

What was the best thing about it?

The biggest support was the online chat, where we compared our feelings and experiences and I found out that most of us felt the same, which kept me going.

I lost over 5 pounds in the first week and it helped weighing myself every day and seeing the weight going down. I am sticking to the diet but did introduce wine back in – not every day, and I find it easier to control the intake.

I loved when we were set weekly step goals and slowly introduced other exercises. I am now walking regularly every day when I am off work, and even my husband says I am much faster and he can’t keep up with me!

I do struggle to achieve my step goals on workdays because of the type of job I do. I really like walking in the fresh air. I am still learning with the muscle exercises but would like to make them part of my weekly routine.

How do you feel now?

In my first six weeks, I’ve lost 5.3kg in total and started seeing small changes in my body shape. I am extremely proud of myself for achieving this, even though we celebrated a birthday in the family, had a party, had guests over, went to restaurants for lunch/dinner and so on – but I still managed to keep my eating habits on track according to the Second Nature guidelines.

It has completely changed my outlook on food and I would like to keep going this way for a long time. Not only because of losing weight but also because of how good I feel. I don’t have any problems with indigestion, heartburn or bloating. I no longer feel tired in the afternoon and have lots of energy.

I do sometimes have cravings for something different but I will either reward myself with a small piece of what I want or look through the Second Nature recipe book for new ideas!

I couldn’t have made these changes without the support of the group chat, my health coach, the mobile app and also knowing I invested money in my health. Thank you so much and I hope I will continue with my new lifestyle for a long time.

What next?

As a small reward, I bought myself a new ski jacket for skiing this year, but it is a bit tight around my chest. I hope it will keep me going and help me stay focused so I can enjoy my skiing trip without tight clothes. I even tried my ski trousers from 2005 and I can now just about close them – I really want the clothes to fit me!

Last but not least, today I changed my uniform at work – I went from an XL top to an L, and L trousers to M. I’ve never been in these sizes before, so that made my day!’

You can read more Second Nature stories here.