A NEW mum shifted two stones 10 days after the birth of her daughter after following the Slimming World plan.

Gemma Grogan stuck to the healthy eating diet throughout her pregnancy – and she now weighs less than she did before she gave birth to her six-week old daughter Isla.

The 34-year-old, who lives in Langside, Glasgow, with her husband Andy, said: “I joined Slimming World about three years ago because I was getting married and I was two stone overweight.

“I lost all the weight and I was the lightest I had been since I was 18 on my wedding day so I was properly delighted.”

She continued: “I went on honeymoon and I didn’t follow anything for weeks. When I came back, I put on 18 pounds in four weeks because I didn’t weigh in every week.

“So I decided when I fell pregnant I would need to go weigh in every week because when I don’t keep my eye on things, I obviously put on a lot of weight really quickly.”

Gemma, however, took advice from her NHS midwife before continuing with the plan which encourages healthy eating.

She said: “When I first went to my midwife I explained to her I was doing Slimming World and she said that is great.

“They recommend people do it because you are not limiting yourself to things. You are keeping an eye on what you are eating which is good.”

The biggest problem she had with the diet, however, was perhaps other people’s attitudes to what she was doing.

She said: “When I fell pregnant, a lot of people’s attitudes were ‘oh you are eating for two now, you can eat what you want’.

“I didn’t want to pile on loads of weight when I had my daughter and then find it hard to get back in shape. That’s why I thought stick with Slimming World although I will put on weight I will be able to manage it better.”

She added: “My cravings were chocolate and ice lollies. I craved chocolate milk a lot too.

“But I just had skimmed milk instead so I was still satisfying my cravings and what I wanted, I was just putting a healthier spin on it.”

And it is this through making healthy choices, Gemma has stunned her friends who have inundated her with compliments since the birth.

She said: “Everyone thought I was crazy. It is funny because once I weighed in, I am lighter than I was when I first found out I was pregnant.

“People have said I look amazing and congratulated me for sticking to Slimming World.

“The proof is in the pudding. People think you are mental for doing it but at the other end I am back out, I am walking loads.

“It’s allowed me to get back to myself quickly again which is good.”

She added: “I was expecting to put on a pound or two every week.

“But the first couple of months, I was just maintaining which is good. Then near then end, the last trimester I put on a pound or a pound and a half every week.

“I was totally happy with that because I wasn’t totally following the plan in the later part of the pregnancy. I wasn’t being really strict or anything I was just making better choices.

“I put on two stones when I was pregnant but I lost it pretty much within 10 days of Isla being born.”

Gemma is still on the plan and would love to lose another stone.

SHE continues to attend the classes, and urges other women who are pregnant to consider joining.

She said: “If you are concerned about your weight in the first place then this plan is for you. The group is fantastic. It wasn’t all about my weight, I enjoyed the social side of the class.

“It was a choice to make sure I felt well as many women can feel awful during their pregnancy.”

She added: “I have tried every diet in the past from Aitkens to cabbage food diet, but Slimming World worked for me.

“My recovery has been amazing. I was feeling fine a week after a C-section.

“I think that was down to the fact I wasn’t carrying loads of extra weight as well.”

Gemma is pictured with Linda

Gemma attended Linda Parrott’s class which takes place in The Beechwood in King’s Park on Thursday at 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

Linda, who is a team developer for the South Side of Glasgow and has been running the class for three years, said: “This is the first Slimming World baby I have had in three years.

“We don’t call Slimming World a diet. It is all about the foods you eat and how you cook them. We encourage you to eat your fruit and vegetables, get your calcium, protein and fibre, and have your treats, which we call syns.”

The mum-of-four added: “Pregnancy for a lot of people is an excuse to eat. I wouldn’t have been four stone overweight had I done the plan during pregnancy.

“When they have had the baby, they will come to the club because they can’t believe the weight they have gained.

“Gemma has done amazing. She was a member before and she did brilliant. She looked amazing pregnant. We wanted her to gain the weight and the process was monitored by her midwife.”

What does the NHS say?



The rise of obesity in the general population is also mirrored in the increasing number of women being overweight or obese at the start of pregnancy.



More than 25% of all pregnant women in NHSGGC were overweight with 20% obese or severely obese. Due to the higher risks of developing complications, the rising cost of obesity in pregnancy is placing a greater financial burden on the NHS - £600 Million every year nationally.



Obese women stay nearly five days longer in hospital than healthy women and their care cost is estimated at five times higher. The costs associated with newborns are also increased as babies born to obese mothers have a three and a half-fold increased risk of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit.

For more information on Linda's group, visit here