A mother shared her weight loss journey, revealing how she managed to shed nine stone in just 12 months without opting for weight loss injections or surgery. Instead, she followed a traditional meal replacement diet.

Mother-of-two Amy Swan began her transformation in January 2024, swapping all meals for formula products such as soups, shakes and snack bars.

The strict regime—just 800 calories a day—helped her drop six stone by June, and nine stone by the end of the year. 

Alongside the plan, she drank three litres of water a day, but did very little exercise.

In a TikTok video that has been viewed 2.5 million times, 33-year-old Ms. Swan wrote, ‘Here’s how I transformed from being severely overweight, lacking confidence, and always seeking approval from others to losing nine stone, regaining my confidence, and establishing healthy boundaries—all within one year.’

‘I started a total meal replacement diet—that’s four products a day.

‘I committed to this program for six months. Despite slipping up three times, I immediately got back on track—this is an important aspect to remember. By my birthday at the end of June, I had already lost six stone!’

The strict weight loss method is designed to provide essential nutrients and a reduced calorie intake which results in rapid weight loss. 

Amy Swan completely transformed herself and lost nine stone in a year without the help of weight loss jabs by using meal replacements

She lost the hefty pounds by going on a total meal replacement diet—where she swapped all foods for formula products such as soups, shakes and bars.

Ms Swan does not name the plan she used, however there are a number of options including The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, LighterLife and KeeDiet, among others.

Many were developed in the 80s or 90s and, since the launch of weight loss jabs like Ozempic, have increasingly been seen as old fashioned approaches. 

Despite this, many who don’t wish to resort to medication or can’t take it look to such plans to help them shape up.  

Typically, the diets limit slimmers to 800 calories a day for a number of months—less than half of the 2,000 recommended for women—before normal meals are reintroduced gradually.

Once Ms Swan started to allow herself to eat conventional food, she tracked her calories through an app.

‘I kept my meals high protein, generally low carbs but didn’t shy away from them—sweet potato wraps are so good for this stage,’ she advised.

This is also when she introduced exercise, walking 10,000 steps a day—and later training to run five kilometres.

Experts have long advised dieters to opt for foods that are high in protein, as studies show these meals keep you fuller for longer, reducing the chances of snacking. 

After six months she slowly came off the meal replacement plan and spent the rest of the year steadily working up a healthy balanced diet that doesn’t involve axing sweet treats all together

Meanwhile, walking 10,000 steps a day has been touted as the ideal goal to keep fit and healthy.

Ms Swan outlined that on a summer holiday in August she gained 10lbs, but quickly managed to shed it again, within ten days of returning home and to her routine. 

She spent the rest of the year steadily working up a healthy balanced diet that doesn’t involve axing sweet treats all together: ‘I have to have something sweet daily so I’m never going to cut that out, what’s the point!?’

She concluded: ‘I’ve steadily maintained my nine stone weight loss for three months now, I’m working towards running a 10k and I have a new found obsession for cinnamon swirls 

‘Yes, I made a serious sacrifice for the best part of a year, but I’ve actually enjoyed the majority of it and finally got to a place of loving food, nutrition & exercise again…and you can too!’ 

Meanwhile thousands have turned to weight loss jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy as quick fixes to weight loss.

A parade of slimmed-down A-list stars on red carpets have fueling concerns that the jabs are driving a return to the size zero trend—Oprah and Sharon Osbourne are just a couple of the celebrities who have admitted to using the drug.

Ozempic and Wegovy contain the active ingredient semaglutide, which mimics glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)—a naturally occurring hormone released in the small intestine when eating.

The chemical signals to the brain when you are full and slows digestion. This keeps people feeling fuller for longer and dramatically reduces appetite.

It also slows the liver’s production of sugar, forcing the body to burn stored fat for energy.

But a study in the journal Epic Research found that 44 per cent of people who lost at least five pounds using semaglutide and then stopped the drug regained at least 25 per cent of their lost weight within a year.

Dr Emma Cunningham, an aesthetics expert who treats patients suffering cosmetic complications of Ozempic, told the Irish Independent it’s those who become completely reliant on the drug, and fail to make lifestyle changes, who end up putting the weight back on.