Two women who bonded over their weight struggles at work are now “reliving their teens” as thrill-seeking best friends, after losing over 14 stone between them by swapping takeaways and chocolate for zip-wires, rollercoasters and mountain climbing.
Unable to walk upstairs without getting out of breath and weighing 19st 6lbs at her heaviest, senior analyst Gaynor Hayes, 53, lost five stone just before the pandemic hit in March 2020.
But, turning back to the crisps and biscuits in lockdown, it was bonding with her colleague, 62-year-old team leader Gill Beckford – who had just dropped from 13st 12lbs to 10st 13lbs – that helped them both stay on track.
Sharing recipes and enjoying 20-mile country walks, the two mums then tried new adrenaline-pumping activities to help them slim – with Gill reaching her 8st goal in March this year and Gaynor hitting 11st 7lbs in May.
Gaynor, who lives in Watford and has two children, Louise, 28, and James, 26, and Gill, who lives with her husband, businessman Errol Bowker, 62, in Enfield and is mother to Ryan, 36, and Reiss, 30, recently had their noses pierced and are planning to skydive and abseil for their next challenges.
Gaynor said: “Before I did any of this, I used to be miserable at 19st and a dress size 26. I was on heart tablets, blood pressure tablets and sat in the corner of the room trying to hide.”
She added: “Now I am the happiest I have ever been, trying challenges I would never have done before. If it wasn’t for Gill, I would be back at 19st. She rescued me.
“It feels like we have gone back into our late teens and are reliving what we couldn’t do then because we were overweight.”
Gill said: “I wish we had done this all years ago. I have not only lost weight, but everything about me has changed. I have changed my hair colour from burgundy to bleach-blonde and I wear colourful clothes now rather than baggy, black clothes.”
Gill added: “I am so much more confident and adventurous. My sons are blown away that I am taking on challenges that they wouldn’t even dream of doing.”
Two years before the women joined forces in June 2020, Gaynor first pledged to lose weight.
“I had been a yo-yo dieter for most of my life and would always put the weight back on,” she said. “But I was turning 50 in 2019 and I was getting out of breath walking up the stairs and I wanted to do something. I managed to drop to about 14 stone, which was amazing.”
But when lockdown hit, Gaynor fell back on old habits. “As we went into lockdown, it all went downhill because I couldn’t get weighed,” she said. “I started buying biscuits and chocolate again.”
A friendly message from Gill one day at work, however, helped Gaynor get back on track.
Gill and Gaynor say they feel like teenagers again (Collect/PA Real Life)
Gaynor said: “Gill messaged me one day asking how I was and how the weight loss was going and I said I was really struggling. She said she had managed to lose five stone and would help me.”
A similarly notorious yo-yo dieter, Gill’s main weakness had been takeaways, enjoying Chinese, Indian and fish and chips up four times a week with her husband.
But having joined Weight Watchers in January 2020, when she was a dress size 18, to lose weight for her 60th that March, Gill managed to hit 12st 6lbs and a dress size 16 within those first few months.
Gaynor said of joining forces with Gill: “It made such a difference to have someone to talk to about it all and say when you were having a wobble and get that support.
“We started sharing recipes and pictures of the things we would make and compare.”
Gaynor added: “If we ever saw something that looked good at the supermarket we would always buy two so we could both try it.”
At first walking together to lose weight, the pair then started to look for activities to sign up to.
Gaynor said: “It started off with a sponsored 20K walk for work for the NSPCC in September 2021, which we trained for together, and then we started to look for more things to do.”
As well as sponsored charity walks, the pair took on the Race for Life, the Tottenham Dare Skywalk, the O2 Climb and then a mountain.
She added: “It’s got to the point where we have done so many scary things. We love the adrenaline kicks – the more challenging the better.”
Just this month, the pair had their noses pierced together.
Gaynor said: “We saw that somewhere did nose piercings and we just thought, ‘Why not?'”
“It’s not the sort of thing you’d see a 53 or 62-year-old do but we are relieving our youth. I felt exhilarated.”
GAYNOR’S DIET BEFORE
Breakfast – Crumpets with butter, jam and a can of Coke.
Lunch – Deli baguette, crisps, chocolate bar and can of Coke.
Dinner – Whole pizza, chocolate, crisps and a can of Coke.
GAYNOR’S DIET AFTER
Breakfast – Baked oats with fat-free yoghurt and skinny syrup.
Lunch – Air-fried chicken wrap and low-fat crisps with Diet Coke.
Dinner – Chicken or salmon with vegetables and an Alpen bar for dessert and a Diet Coke.
GILL’S DIET BEFORE
Breakfast – Four slices of toast with lots of butter and jam.
Lunch – Cheese and mayonnaise baguette with crisps and bar of chocolate.
Dinner – Chinese or Indian takeaway, fish and chips or a ready meal.
Snacks – Sausage roll, biscuits, chocolate and crisps.
GILL’S DIET AFTER
Breakfast – Baked oats with fat-free yoghurt and fruit.
Lunch – Cheese or chicken low-carb roll with a big salad.
Dinner – Salmon, vegetables and cauliflower rice.
Snacks – Fresh fruit.