The 66-year-old felt ‘ashamed’ to leave the house until late night scrolling led her to the Simple app
Teresa was suffering from poor mental health due to her weight but a chance encounter with Simple changed her life(Image: Simple)
For many people, losing weight can be about more than changes to their physical health, with reaching a healthier weight potentially helping them feel more confident and comfortable in themselves. Feeling better day to day can also have a positive impact on overall wellbeing, particularly for those who have struggled with their weight for a long time.
That’s something retired British woman Teresa Hunter has experienced after shedding more than three stone. The 66-year-old, who once felt too “ashamed” to leave the house, credits an AI coaching app with completely transforming her relationship with food after six decades of struggling.
Teresa, from Plymouth, had been on a ‘slippery slope’ of weight gain for more than a decade, reaching 15st 13lb (223lb) by January. Battling with her mental health, she stumbled across the Simple app during a sleepless 3am scroll, which she claims has since “transformed her life.”
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The weight-loss app has quietly earned a loyal following for its personalised plans and emphasis on realistic, achievable habits. Rather than relying on strict calorie counting or eliminating entire food groups, the app focuses on small, manageable changes that are easier to maintain over time.
Teresa admits she has “dieted her whole life,” experiencing a mixture of triumphs and setbacks throughout the years. She said: “I lost 100 pounds in 1991 with Weight Watchers and kept it off for a considerable number of years. But since about 2013, I’ve been on the slippery slope of gaining more and more and more each year,” reports the Mirror.
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For Teresa, the physical burden of her weight ultimately started to affect her emotional health. “I was suffering with my mental health because of it,” Teresa admits.
“I felt ashamed. I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t go anywhere, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I didn’t feel I had the right to go anywhere, which is really sad.” The decisive moment arrived shortly after Christmas. Weighing 223lbs (15st and 13lbs) and unable to sleep one night in January.
Teresa said: “It’s just like somebody flicked a switch in my head and taught me how to eat after 66 years,(Image: Simple App)
“I was scrolling through the phone like you do these days, and there was this app called Simple telling me all about fasting,” she recalls. Initially sceptical, she worried she would “go faint” or “pass out” without her regular meals, but the idea stayed lodged in her mind.
Keen to begin, Teresa explained: “I got up, went down and got my card, come back to bed and signed up. By the morning I was on my first fast, and I’ve never looked back since.”
The Simple app has steadily gained a dedicated following for its tailored plans and focus on practical, attainable habits. Rather than depending on rigid calorie counting or cutting out whole food groups, the app concentrates on small, sustainable changes that are simpler to maintain long-term.
Currently, new users can also take advantage of substantial discounts, with up to 80% off plans using the code ‘REACH’. Central to the app is its customised approach.
After completing a brief questionnaire, each user receives a personalised plan tailored to their objectives, daily schedule and individual preferences. It incorporates useful features such as intermittent fasting tracking, straightforward workout guidance and effortless food logging — whether through typing, voice input or by photographing meals.
When Teresa embarked on a rigorous “clean fasting” regime, fasting for 19 to 20 hours a day, she found the results were ‘rapid. ‘ Within four weeks, she had shed a stone, observing that the weight was “melting away” from her stomach and back.
Six weeks later, she dropped a second stone, and six weeks after that, a third. After 175 days of using the app, she now weighs 167lbs (11st 13lb) and says she is “truly happy.”
Teresa says show now “feels amazing”(Image: Simple)
One standout feature of Simple is Avo, the app’s AI coach. It delivers instant tips, meal suggestions and gentle encouragement throughout the journey. Teresa attributes her success to the app’s AI wellness assistant, Avo, and the straightforward food logging system for keeping her on track without inducing any feelings of guilt.
“It’s just like somebody flicked a switch in my head and taught me how to eat after 66 years,” Teresa says. “We’ve always been programmed to eat three meals a day, and make sure you clear your plate… but now I know that that’s all false. I don’t think there’s good and bad food. Food is food. And you choose yourself what you’re gonna eat.”
Teresa now enjoys a well-rounded diet comprising salmon, vegetables, and her preferred lunch of avocado and eggs on toast, alongside her “must-have” peanut butter with celery or bananas.
The platform also avoids rigid dieting rules, focusing instead on behavioural changes and sustainable habits. Users are encouraged to build routines that work for them individually, making it easier to maintain results long-term rather than slipping back into old ways.
For those seeking an alternative, Lifesum allows users to log meals and snacks while offering nutritional and calorie information to aid weight loss. The basic version is free, with premium plans ranging from £7.49 a month to approximately £50 a year.
Another widely used option is MyFitnessPal, which boasts more than 280 million members and enables users to monitor their food consumption, calories, macronutrients and micronutrients. The basic version is free, while premium plans begin at £79.99 a year or £19.99 a month.
Thanks to her remarkable transformation with the Simple app, Teresa is now fitting into clothes she hasn’t been able to wear for over a decade. “Trying on all my clothes has been mega fun,” she laughs.
Alongside her newfound confidence, Teresa has embraced a fresh outlook on life, recently venturing abroad on holiday and embarking on lengthy solo walks, in addition to walking her four dogs. “I actually feel amazing,” she beams, explaining that she now frequently receives compliments from people who don’t even recognise her initially.
“I don’t know if there was some kind of sign that sent it to me in the middle of the night… but I’m so glad I didn’t sleep that night. If I can do this, you can all do this.”
The app steers clear of strict dieting rules, instead emphasising behavioural modifications and maintainable practices.(Image: Simple)
Users have shared their opinions on Trustpilot about the Simple app, which has an overall rating of 4.3 out of five stars and is categorised as ‘Excellent’.
One user said: “This has been so helpful with my fasting and I love my AI coach. Definitely worth the money.”
Another commented: “It has helped me in so many ways with my health my physical appearance I’ve been so satisfied with this app and to the information that they give me is wonderful easy explanatory and easy to understand this app I recommend highly I give it a 10.”
A third user wrote: “A little over a week in and I’m loving this! I’ve already noticed patterns that I can apply to my diet and I’m seeing a change in my most stubborn areas! ! Highly recommend!”
Another added: “So far it is helping me keep track of my diet and health while also navigating my kids life and helping their mom and myself get through the work day. Solid..”
However, not all reviews were positive. One user said: “The exercises are very repetitive. The advertising was misleading as it talks all about thai chi but it is not really making a difference to me. I am disappointed.”
One user was more impressed calling the app a ‘game changer.’ They added: “It reminds me that tracking works and also the importance of eating well.”
Customers can save 80% on Simple’s weight loss programmes by entering the code REACH.
