An Auckland mother has shared how she lost 12kg with a Kiwi food delivery service, and says she's sure it saved her life.
Bernadette Wilson, 54, works as a lawyer and has two adult children. It wasn't until a routine blood test at the doctor's in 2017 that she realised "everything was out of whack".
"I had to do something, I had to lose weight as I was quite unwell," Ms Wilson says.
"My cholesterol was high, my blood pressure was high, I had an underactive thyroid, and a lot of gut issues (with IB type symptoms). I had to make a change."
Ms Wilson says she realised it had to start with food - but it's a path she'd taken before.
"I'm not someone who loses weight easily at all, with any diet I've been on, I'd lose a couple of kilos in the first week and then it stops. It's disheartening and frustrating," she says.
However she said that all changed when she decided to try out a healthy food delivery service. She opted for Fresh Start, brought in last year as healthier addition to the popular My Food Bag range founded by Kiwi chef Nadia Lim.
Ms Wilson says she managed to lose 12kg in 12 weeks with the food delivery service, which she called "miraculous".
"When I began eating well, and with the right volume of plant-based food and less meat and fish my symptoms dissipated. My last blood results were fantastic," she says.
"I look at photos from before I lost the weight on Fresh Start, and my face looks puffy and you can tell it was general ill-health. I think I look so much healthier now and that's what it's all about for me."
And it's not just Ms Wilson that's seen a change.
"I like the fact that my husband has lost weight too... he didn't need to - nonetheless, I like that we've been eating healthily.
"If I said, 'We're going on a diet,' he'd never go on one - he'd say he doesn't believe in them."
Ms Wilson says trying out the healthy delivery service is a "no-brainer", as it helps people prioritise "good food over anything else".
My Food Bag says it's thrilled at Ms Wilson's story.
"The incredible weight loss transformations that are occurring with the help of Fresh Start have been so inspiring for the whole team," they told Newshub.
"We couldn't be more proud of Bernadette and her dedication…[it] is phenomenal, and to have turned her health around in this way is what we always hoped for when launching the Fresh Start programme."
Newshub.
