Karen lost more than 14 stone, saying: “I can’t believe it’s actually been so simple. I’ve not felt deprived along the way.”
Karen Haffernan has shared her weight loss journey after losing more than 13 stone(Image: Simple)
A Scottish woman who has lost more than half her body weight is celebrating an inspiring transformation powered by simple, sustainable lifestyle changes, not just quick fixes. Karen Heffernan, from just outside Glasgow, decided it was time for a fresh start after what she describes as “a bit of a health scare and a difficult conversation with a surgeon.”
Instead of restrictive dieting or counting every calorie, Karen embraced a fitness app that helped her make small, manageable changes step by step. Over around 18 months, those changes added up to an incredible 14½ stone (94kg) loss, more than half of her starting weight of 26½ stone, reports the Mirror.
Now feeling better than ever, Karen says she’s in the best shape of her life, both physically and mentally. “I can’t believe it’s been so simple,” she says. “I’ve never felt deprived. My motto is ‘delay, don’t deny.’ You can still enjoy treats — it’s all about balance, the yin and the yang, and building habits over time.
“This hasn’t been about surgery or medication. It’s been about nourishing my body with good food, staying active, getting proper rest, and keeping that motivation going every day.”
She described how her health overhaul had transformed her day-to-day existence, boosting her energy levels alongside a wealth of other benefits, adding: “It’s little things like going out for a meal and not having to worry about where you’re sitting or going on an aeroplane and not worrying, if you’re in the middle seat, about encroaching on anyone else.”
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Despite her impressive weight loss, Karen has avoided the issue of loose skin, which she attributes to intermittent fasting. Not only did this approach support a healthier path to losing weight, but research from Cambridge University also indicates that it carries anti-inflammatory properties, which contribute to skin renewal and elasticity.
Fitness and wellbeing apps have become a go-to for staying healthy, with their popularity soaring in recent years, especially during the pandemic, when many people looked for new ways to stay active at home. From meal trackers like MyFitnessPal and Lose It! to workout platforms such as Hevy, there’s now a wealth of tools designed to keep your goals firmly within reach.
Bringing many of these features together in one place, the Simple app offers a streamlined approach to wellbeing. It covers everything from strength training and cardio to more gentle options like chair yoga, alongside a suite of innovative tools. One standout is NutriScanner, which can analyse the nutritional content of your meals from a simple photo.
There’s also an intermittent fasting tracker which perfect for those who prefer this popular approach over calorie counting, as seen in Michael Mosley’s widely followed 16:8 method, designed to support metabolism by adjusting eating windows.
To make the journey even smoother, the app includes an AI-powered assistant called Avo, ready to answer questions and provide support along the way. Right now, the Simple app is offering an impressive 80% discount with the code REACH at checkout.
After signing up, users complete a quick questionnaire about their lifestyle, goals and preferences, allowing the app to create a fully personalised plan that fits seamlessly into their daily routine.
Karen explained: “I started small, I found the intermittent fasting lifestyle, did a lot of research and I gradually built things up. Simple was a great way to track the fasts that I was doing and gives you tips along the way. I also introduced Avo, which was great in giving you some tips for health and nutrition and making recipes.
“One of my first tips is to just keep going. Guilt? Get it out the window. There’s always the next day where you can start again and get on the journey. Exercise is really important. Now I do core stability, I’m doing pilates and you can’t stop me from walking. I take the family on little walks after a meal.”
Karen is among more than 17 million users globally who have downloaded the app to help boost their fitness levels. The Simple Life App holds an impressive average rating of 4.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot, based on more than 28,000 reviews.
One five-star reviewer said they ‘couldn’t say enough good things about this app,’ adding: “Love this app. It’s teaching me how to make eating healthy and being active a lifestyle that I can continue on my own. Love the workouts that I can adjust from low to high depending on my time and energy. Logging food and water is easy, as well as using their AI to get recipes from a list that I have in my pantry and fridge to scanning menus at restaurants to help me choose the best option.”
A second reviewer praised Avo for helping keep her motivated, adding: “The coach is helpful. Also, when I fall off track the coach doesn’t make me feel like I failed the day. It is very encouraging and helps keep me motivated and focused.”
Not everyone is won over, however. One three-star reviewer commented: “I feel tied to my phone. It’s not good for me.”
Yet that same portability proved to be a major selling point for another user, who described it as ‘one of the best weight loss and lifestyle apps I’ve ever used,’ adding: “It’s the best culmination of evidence based strategies (fasting, Mediterranean diet, mindfulness, etc) plus the power of AI, which is like having a personal health coach or therapist in your pocket. Also, I love that tracking is so easy and more focused on the quality of food choices vs cumbersome portion size and nutrition tracking like programs of the past.”
