Eirini Tsepouni, a 31-year-old stay-at-home mother from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, has lost 10 stone after eliminating sugar from her diet and restricting her eating to a seven-hour window each day. She dropped from 21 stone 12 pounds to 11 stone 13 pounds, and for the first time, she can wear white jeans in size 12.
From movie marathons to a life-changing decision
Tsepouni's weight gain began when she was furloughed from her waitressing job during the Covid-19 pandemic. She spent her days at home "eating and watching movies," often bingeing on sweets. Her weight reached 21st 12lbs, and she began experiencing intense knee pain that made it difficult to sit and play with her one-year-old daughter, Leila. "I didn't want her to lose her childhood with her mum," Tsepouni said.
The turning point came when she noticed stretch marks on her belly and realized she had been seeing a distorted image of herself in the mirror. "I was seeing a different person in the mirror than other people could see in real life. I was seeing a person who was not overweight," she told SWNS.
Diet overhaul and intermittent fasting
In December 2024, Tsepouni completely changed her eating habits. She cut out "rubbish food" such as crisps, cakes, and sugary snacks from her weekly shopping, replacing them with eggs, meat, salad, and fruit. She also eliminated sugar entirely from her diet for six months. She adopted an intermittent fasting schedule, eating only between 12pm and 7pm each day.
Her typical daily meals now include a morning coffee, a tuna or steak salad for lunch, fruit a few hours later, and a dinner of "finger foods" like a snack plate of cucumber, cheese, turkey, croutons, and olives. She stops eating by 6pm or 7pm and fasts until the next day around 12pm or 1pm, depending on her daughter's routine.
Increased energy and confidence
Tsepouni noticed immediate benefits from cutting sugar. "What I realised was I was feeling more energetic without sugar. My skin was glowing and I did lose weight faster," she said. She also increased her physical activity, walking more than 10,000 steps a day, often taking Leila to the park and then strolling around the city centre.
She emphasizes that the scale can be misleading. "Every month was different and what I learned through the journey is the scale is sometimes lying. You might not see it on the scale, but in your measurements. The big difference was after a year I started dropping in size and I could wear jeans and jeggings – I started feeling more confident."
A new lease on life
Tsepouni views her new habits as a permanent lifestyle change rather than a diet. "I don't want to see it as a diet I want to see it as a life-changing habit. At the end of the day your body is a car, would you put crappy fuel in a car?" she said. She is motivated by setting a good example for her daughter. "I don't want my daughter to grow up seeing me with snacks in my hand all the time. I don't want her to go through what I went through being fat, only wearing black leggings and not knowing what jeans were."
Before her weight loss, Tsepouni struggled with everyday activities. "Being overweight I needed a plan to live. I needed a plan to go to the theatre, to the cinema because I didn't know if I'd fit in the chair. There are so many embarrassing moments, but they didn't shake me up. Having my daughter woke me up."
Now, she says, "Honestly I feel more beautiful than ever and stronger than ever. I don't feel pain anymore. I won't think twice about standing up to do something. I feel like life has started now."
