BEFORE
SOPHIE
BUTLER
AGE
27
HEIGHT
172cm
START WEIGHT
88kg
WEIGHT NOW
68kg
WEIGHT LOST
20kg
TIME TAKEN
2 years
HOW
Online
SOPHIE’S TOP TIP:
“Love yourself
and stop
comparing
yourself to
others.”
B
efore joining Weight
Watchers, Sophie Butler
thought everyone felt
bloated, tired and drained most
of the time. “I didn’t realise it
wasn’t how you’re supposed to
feel,” she reveals.
The 27-year-old dental nurse
from Perth had been steadily
gaining weight since she turned 18.
“I got my driver’s licence and
started going out for dinner with
friends more frequently. I’d done
a lot of dance while I was
growing up – mainly jazz and tap
- but stopped when I turned 18.
“I was a
competitive swimmer
when I was younger
and as I got older
I stopped swimming
through a squad,
although I still enjoyed
it in my spare time.”
Then, after a trip
overseas with her
boyfriend (now husband)
Richard, 29, Sophie
returned to Australia the
heaviest she’d ever been.
“After eating and
drinking our way across
Europe for two months I weighed
88kg. When we got home Mum
was doing WW and she had lost
12kg so I decided to join too.
I thought it would be easy if we
did it together and could
support each other,” she says.
EATING CONSCIOUSLY
During the first few weeks on
the WW program Sophie began
to view food very differently.
She started cooking and eating
at home more. Planning meals,
weighing food and tracking
everything she ate meant her
choices became healthier and
her portion sizes got smaller.
“Carbs are my favourite thing
ever. I love bread and pasta.
Before I joined WW I would
sometimes have two pieces
of toast for breakfast, then a
sandwich for lunch, followed
by a big bowl of pasta for dinner.
“Until I started tracking
I didn’t realise how much I was
eating. Now I mix it up more.
I can still have the carbs I love,
but in moderation, and that’s
the beauty of Weight Watchers.
No food is off limits, but you
learn how to balance everything
out across the week.”
Sophie and Richard still love
eating out at restaurants, but
now Sophie makes healthier
choices from the menu.
“I choose the option that
doesn’t come with chips, or I’ll
swap the chips for salad and
a simple dressing. Sometimes
I’ll just order an entree and we
might share a dessert.”
Sophie is a big fan of the
New WW Your Way+ program,
and loves the flexibility and
freedom it gives her to enjoy
her favourite foods and never
feel like she’s missing out.
“I eat very healthy meals from
Monday to Friday, then I splurge
a little on the weekend without
having to worry about it.”
GETTING PHYSICAL
When Sophie and Richard
married last March, she had been
maintaining her Goal weight of
68kg for more than a year.
“I took up pole dancing, which
helped me build muscle and has
been great for my flexibility and
core strength. It was something
I never thought I’d do, but in an
all-female environment it is
supportive and fun.”
Along with swimming, in
the warmer months Sophie
walks her Australian shepherd, Words
Jo Webber
Photography
David Hahn
Styling
Karli Butson
Hair and makeup
Rachael Montgomery
20 weightwatchers.com/nz
Sophie and husband Richard
(above) love eating out, but
now she makes healthy choices
and keeps active walking her
dog Freddie – and she’s been
at Goal for more than a year!