Truck driver blames ‘naughty stops’ in lorry for piling on pounds

A woman who lost 9st in a few months has blamed "all the naughty stops" she did as a lorry driver for gaining so much weight in the first place. Always a keen eater, Abbie Newton, from Bodmin, said she really started stacking on the pounds the minute she obtained her HGV driving licence. She said that the work was an invitation to snack off all the time and soon enough she gained a lot of weight.

Abbie said that while she was a large child growing up, even though we always ate healthy home cooked meals as a family and she was always active, she started secretly snacking, especially after passing her driving test as could get herself a takeaway and scoff in private, before going home and eat a meal. It was when she started working as a lorry driver that her weight went off the scales. She said: "At 19 I passed my HGV licence and started truck driving, once on the road you're tempted with all the naughty stops, McDonald's, Greggs and the infamous bacon butty vans.

Read more: Mum's kids no longer bullied after her 11st weight loss "I had a very active job then, so even though I was eating a lot, I didn't put a huge amount on. When I was about 23, I was unfortunately made redundant from my job, and as I had a reasonably good pay out from them I wasn't in a rush to find another job.

So instead I would go to work with my partner, where I would sit all day with him eating bad foods, and then come home and eat a large meal. Unfortunately the hungrier I was, the larger the portion size went." Abbie said that when she started her next long distance lorry driving job doing 15-hour night shifts with only nine off during the day to sleep and eat she put on a lot of weight, exercising little and snacking on junk food in the cab of the lorry to keep her company.

Get our top stories delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you want here She added: "I had moved into my own home in this time so didn't have any scales.

One day I had a picture taken of us on a boat, and I looked absolutely horrendous. I ended up cropping myself out of the picture when I showed it to my partner. "This gave me the kick up the bum I needed to get myself back in control.

I bought some scales to see what the damage was - 23 stone 3lb. I had never, ever been this heavy in my life and felt absolutely disgusted with myself for letting myself get like it." Abbie ditched the junk food, chocolate and crisps and joined the gym.

Within a few months she had dropped to 19st but as her weight loss stopped, she decided to join her local Slimming World group. The result? Within weeks she had lost a further 9st.

Abbie said: "Going to group was lovely as everyone is there for the same thing, to lose weight and feel better about yourself. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, Teresa the consultant is fantastic, and makes the group so interesting and encourages everyone to interact and help each other. "Losing weight in the group makes it much easier than by yourself, as you have friends there to encourage each other and keep you in the correct mindset that you need to be in."

Jacquie Lavin, special advisor on the science of weight management at Slimming World, said it has been proven that joining a weight loss group of like-minded and supportive people makes all the difference to people's goals.

She said: "After years of lockdowns and social distancing, it's unsurprising that people are feeling less socially connected than ever before and missing that connection. Struggling with your weight can be an especially lonely place to be. Technology played a vital role in keeping us in touch when we couldn't be together in person, but there is no substitute for the benefits of real-life, face-to-face connection.

"Our Slimming World groups are the original social network. For more than 50 years our members have found a sense of belonging within our groups - one they might not feel anywhere else - as they've joined together with like-minded people who understand how it feels to be overweight. We understand it's a physical and a psychological journey and members need support to tackle both."

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