20st crisp addict who ate 4 packets daily lost half her body weight without jabs

A crisp fanatic who tipped the scales at a hefty 20 stone after munching through four packets a day has shed an incredible half her body weight naturally –without resorting to any injections. Lisa Bernett, 44, reached a peak weight of 20st 5lbs and found herself panting just climbing the stairs.

Her diet was dominated by family-sized bags of Doritos, bi-weekly takeaway feasts costing £50, and "huge" servings of cheesy pasta. However, when Lisa's husband expressed his desire to slim down, she decided to join him on his weight loss journey, not wanting to be the larger one in their partnership.

Having been let down by "fad" diets in the past, Lisa turned to the calorie-counting app MyNetDiary instead of opting for injections like Mounjaro. In just two years, she went from wearing size 24 clothes to flaunting a trim size 8, having lost a whopping 10st 5lbs by overhauling her diet and embracing exercise.

READ MORE: Big Brother winner marries for a second time - one year after welcoming second child

READ MORE: Hiroshima nuclear bomb survivors mark 80 years in 'last' milestone for many

Lisa, hailing from Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire, shared: "I would never use the jabs as I do not believe it teaches you about fat loss or educating yourself about food. It's a good tool to have but if you have no other tools then how will you keep it off?

"There's no way I would want to stay on injections for the rest of my life in the fear that if I stop I'll gain. I also didn't feel comfortable going down the surgery route."

Lisa, who manages a funeral directors, added: "When my husband said he wanted to lose weight that set the bells off. I didn't want him to be smaller than me, I'm quite old fashioned and I thought 'if he's smaller me than he can't protect me'."

She further shared: "My lifestyle before was pretty bad - I didn't move. I'd take the kids to school, go to work and then come home and sit on my backside. Walking, going up the stairs, it was hard.

"My knees hurt and I got out of breath really quickly. Thankfully, I never had any health issues, but I got chest infections quite a lot."

Following her decision to transform her life, Lisa recognised she needed to tackle her eating habits. She explained the calorie tracking application enabled her to keep her generous portion sizes whilst focusing on protein and fibre intake.

She swapped heavy cheesy pasta dishes for jacket potatoes topped with grilled chicken and salad, and quickly started noticing results. Paired with a fitness routine beginning at 10,000 daily steps - later increased to 20,000 - plus regular gym sessions, Lisa successfully dropped the weight.

She can now select "anything" from clothing rails in shops after previously 'despising' shopping trips. Lisa explained: "My diet was poor. I wouldn't ever eat breakfast.

"Lunchtime I'd either eat loads of pasts with cheese, or I'd have lots of bagels with cheese. For a snack I'd have a whole bag of crisps with a dip - I didn't realise a whole bag of and a dip was probably my whole daily allowance for food.

"I'd have a takeaway twice a week and big portions of home cooked meals. I always had to finish my plates.

"Now, I use a calorie app. I reeducated myself about food and now I know when I'm going to lose weight and when I'm not.

"My portions are big but they're big with calorie dense food. I prioritise my protein goal, fibre goal and a calorie goal.

"As long as I hit these goals then it doesn't matter about my fat and carbs. As soon as you cut out food, your body wants it.

"When people say they're going to have 1,200 calories, it's not sustainable and then you binge over the weekend." She also embraced a gym routine as part of her revamped lifestyle, overcoming initial intimidation that had once sent her "running out crying" from the gym.

Lisa shared: "I started off with walking 10,000 steps a day. I did that for three months but now I'm doing 20,000 a day.

"I got a gym membership, and I walked in and it was so overwhelming. You feel like everyone's looking at you and I ran out crying.

"So I got a PT, and I had him for three or four months. I liked the boxing part of it so I started Muay Thai which I did three times a week - sometimes five times a week.

"Now I'm at another place where I have gym sessions and do martial arts every morning. I do that Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then on Tuesday and Thursday I go to gym and do weights."

Despite her achievements, Lisa notes that since shedding the pounds, attitudes of those around her have "changed". She said: "A lot of people didn't think I'd stick to it, and I get that as I'd probably think the same thing.

"I know there are other people who are waiting for me to put the weight back on. People change when you lose weight.

"I'm not that fat friend anymore and everyone likes to have a fat friend. Strangers are also nicer to me.

"I used to hide in the back in photos, now I want to be in the front - I love it. I eat properly during the week so I know I can have a big plate of food at a restaurant on Saturday, and I don't feel like people are watching or judging me, but if I was big, they'd be judging me."

Lisa revealed her advice for others looking to follow suit is to "take accountability" adding: "Not everyone's perfect. Even on the days you find hard, and you want to reach out for something bad, do it, but weigh it and take accountability, then rein it back in the following day."

Lisa's previous eating habits

• Breakfast: Nothing.
• Lunch: Large serving of cheesy pasta.
• Snack: Packets of crisps.
• Dinner: Generous home-cooked meal or takeaway.

Lisa's current daily menu

• Breakfast: 60 grams of porridge, 28g vanilla protein powder, 200ml almond milk, 80g blueberries.
• Lunch: Potato, 300g tuna in brine, tin of sweetcorn, 50g spring onion and mix with 50ml lite mayo, 20ml balsamic vinegar.
• Dinner: Jacket potato 300g, bowl of salad, spring onions, beetroot and balsamic vinegar, with grilled chicken and peri peri salt