A nurse swapped her XL sized scrubs for a small after shredding seven stone by walking 10,000 steps a day.<br /><br />Samantha Abreu, 25, says she has always struggled with her weight and weighed 18st 1lb and was a size 22 at her heaviest.<br /><br />She would often binge eat – filling up on toast and cereal after dinners – and hated exercise.<br /><br />Samanatha struggled to get through her 10 hour nursing shifts due to exhaustion.<br /><br />She worried she would end up like some of the elderly patients she saw who couldn’t get up after a fall.<br /><br />During lockdown she started going for daily walks for her mental health and realised the exercise was a “blessing” for her mindset and body.<br /><br />Slowly she started intuitively eating, decreasing her portions and dropped 7st 6lbs in a year.<br /><br />Now a healthy 10st 9lbs and a size eight Samantha walks 10,000 steps a day, goes to the gym four days a week and feels “safe” in her body.<br /><br />Samantha, a nurse, from Melbourne, Australia, said: “I worried about being old and not being able to get up after a fall.<br /><br />“Growing up I always felt insecure.<br /><br />“I couldn’t envision a future for myself.<br /><br />“As I lost weight I still found myself reaching for XL scrubs but they started to feel too baggy and would get in the way.<br /><br />“Now I feel comfortable and safe in my body.<br /><br />"Before being a nurse I was an assistant so it's very physically demanding. It was very exhausting.<br /><br />"It's crazy half of these things don't tire me like they used to."<br /><br />Growing up Samantha was always overweight and would “comfort eat”.<br /><br />She said: “I’d have urges to eat so much to the point of being uncomfortable.<br /><br />“After a family dinner I’d have a huge bowel of cereal and slices of toast.”<br /><br />She would secretly order and eat takeaways from Uber Eats before her parents got home from work and would never exercise.<br /><br />But when the lockdown hit, Samantha found herself going for daily walks for her mental health and enjoying exercise.<br /><br />She said: “As a child I did not like movement.<br /><br />“I’d cry if we went on a walk.<br /><br />“Now movement makes me feel at peace.<br /><br />“I kept implementing healthy habits every day.”<br /><br />At the start of 2023, Samantha increased her efforts to move her body more and began to cut down her calories.<br /><br />She hasn’t made a massive difference to her diet but has cut down her portion sizes.<br /><br />Samantha said: “I now view food as fuel.<br /><br />“I don’t have feelings with food.”<br /><br />She doesn’t limit herself from eating any cravings but rather than having a pizza she will make a wrap pizza as a healthier version.<br /><br />Now she has fallen love with exercise and strength training. She gets up to go the gym four days a week, hits 10,000 steps or more a day and runs 5k a week.<br /><br />Samantha said: "I move intuitively and it's what works for me.<br /><br />“It’s completely changed my life.<br /><br />“It’s lovely looking stronger.<br /><br />“It makes me feel safe in my body.<br /><br />"I hope other people can see themselves in me.<br /><br />"If I can help person and realise they can slowly start implementing change that's all I want."<br /><br />Follow Samantha on TikTok @samantha_abreuu<br /><br /><br />Before weight: 18st 1lbs <br />Before size: 22/ 24<br /><br />Diet before<br />Breakfast: Bowl of cereal/ toast<br />Lunch: Sandwich/ dinner leftovers<br />Dinner: Roast<br />Snacks: Cereal, toast, takeaways<br /><br />Now weight: 10st 9lbs <br />Now size: 8/10<br /><br />Diet after <br />Breakfast: Oats with fruit<br />Lunch: Greek chicken pasta<br />Dinner: Chicken wrap pizza
