Couple’s no-fuss meal prep plan helped them lose 15 stone

You don’t really notice yourself putting weight on. You say, “It’s only a pound, it’s only a stone”. This was true for me. But one day I woke up and realised I couldn’t find any clothes to fit me. At my biggest, in my 20s, I was 21st 6lb, with a 44in waist. Food and alcohol was my problem, I lived in a pub and served food, all I did was eat and drink. Keen to make a change, I went to the library and threw myself into research. I learned about nutrition, calories, and started something that would change my life – meal prepping.

I began to plan, shop for, and make all my meals each Sunday, storing them in the fridge for the week ahead. Cooking from scratch meant I was in control of what I was eating for the first time. I got creative, swapping beige pub food for hearty salads, delicious curries and overnight oats.

In 18 months I lost 9st. I felt great.

In 2017 I met my fiancee Charlotte. I never thought she was big, but she did. She confided that she was starving herself in a bid to lose weight.

So The Meal Prep King was born – I started cooking for Charlotte so she would be eating good, healthy food too.

She was sceptical at first, how could she eat three delicious meals a day and still lose weight? But soon her jeans were looser – then starting to fall off her. She lost 6st in 10 months.

Around this time we started posting on social media, and it took off. Now we have over 1.5million followers on TikTok, and over 420,000 on Instagram.

We’re popular because we’re real people. We don’t have six-packs or abs – but we have lost a lot of weight, 15st between us. We’re proof it can be done.

And I’m here to say you can do it too.

The secret? Prep, prep, prep. This means you are back in control of what you’re eating. Taking a few hours to prep meals for the week will mean you always know what you’re consuming – no nasty surprises. So what will you prep today?

• The Meal Prep King: Prep Yourself Slim by John Clark (£20, Penguin Michael Joseph) is out now