A singer-songwriter who reached a size 22 thanks to her £80-a-day binge eating habit has revealed how she has now lost 10 stone by counting calories and being “kind” to herself.
Martyna Baker, 35, from Hackney, east London, loved eating out and enjoyed a range of expensive snacks but over a period of six years, she piled on the pounds, hitting her highest weight of 18st 8lbs in 2016 and levelling out at 17st 12lbs.
“I could spend £80 a day on food, because I have had a boujie palate so it’s like ‘This isn’t just any binge, this is a Marks & Spencer’s binge’,” Martyna told Jam Press.
“It would be really expensive food, or I’d take myself for dinner at Wagamamas by myself, as I really like going for food myself which most people hate.
“For example, if I’d gone to Pret in the morning, that’s like £8, then I might go for lunch for £20 pounds, and another £20, and I might buy snacks so it can really rack up.
“It was just the usual suspects like doughnuts and crisps, pizza, and just junk food, although I’ve never been somebody who dislikes vegetables or fruit.”
Martyna had tried all sorts of diets to lose weight before, but nothing proved to be sustainable long term – partly due to her extreme methods.
She said: “Anyone who has known me since uni has seen me do some extreme things around food and eating. I tried to be a raw vegan and fruitarian for many years.
“I went clubbing with mangoes in my bag and brought herbal tea bags to a rave.
“One friend reminded me how he’d watched me eat a massive box of lychees. I used to buy 5kg crates of fruit at a time.
“I have done cornflake diets, Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Maple Syrup, Diet Pills, Whole 30, Raw till 4, and the list goes on.
“Every time I was willing to do whatever it took. I’d bring blenders, juicers and huge boxes of food wherever I went because I was certain that this would be the thing that ‘cured’ my issues with food.”
In January 2020, she decided she’d had enough and instead of unusual diets, she would simply try precise calorie counting.
Martyna began dropping the weight by adopting a calorie limit of 1,600 a day and going to the gym to do walking cardio and weight training around four times a week, while eating whatever she fancied within that limit.
At first, this included her fast-food favourites, like doughnuts and Dominos, but she now enjoys a predominantly plant-based balanced diet.
She said: “It is really ironic that in the end, what really helped was so common sense, calorie control and being nice to myself.”
Martyna eventually dropped to 10st 10lbs over a period of 12 months and now wears a size 10.
Addressing her food issues has not only saved her money and improved her health but has also had knock-on effects on Martyna’s creativity and the way others treat her.
Martyna, who has been mainly plant-based since 2011, added: “Being a compulsive overeater or binge eater is a full-time job, it takes so much of your energy as you’re constantly thinking about food or trying to get food and spending all your money on it.
“Now I’m not doing that, it gives me more time to just focus on my creativity and the other things that I want to do in life, not just sort of comforting myself or being trapped in that cycle.”
The singer still weighs portions and calorie counts as she finds it keeps her “accountable”, despite many people criticising her methods.
She said: “I do still weigh everything and count because for me that keeps me accountable and it’s not that much of a big deal.
“People make out like it’s really obsessive, but it’s just like budgeting when you get your money every month. This is just the food budget.”
On an average day, Martyna’s meals include porridge for breakfast, and lots of vegan protein and vegetables.
Martyna said: “I generally have some sort of grain rice and beans.
“I do have a lot of fruit just because I’ve found that that curbs my sweet tooth, but I don’t deny myself sugary things.
“I’ll still have biscuits or crisps but I buy them in smaller versions because if it’s in my house, that’s the portion size.”
Martyna believes that “setting your environment up to support you” is another key factor in her successful weight loss.
She added: “Rather than going to get loads of crap to bring back to my house, I’ll go and get one cupcake from Lola’s then it’s done.”
She also credits walking for keeping her on track, telling Jam Press: “I went walking every single day for a minimum of 12,000 steps.
“I knew as long as I did my steps and ate my calories, I didn’t really worry too much if the scale didn’t go down as it was meant to straight away, as I thought ‘well I’ve done my bit’.“
Now Martyna, who has started sharing her experiences on her Youtube and Instagram accounts, Consistency Killed The Fat, wants to help others reach their “healthiest self”.
She added: “I used to think there was gonna be some magic spell, formula or moment that would lead me to freedom around my weight and food but it wasn’t.
“It was a simple, practical, replicable plan. I did not like how I felt around food or my body when I ate in an out-of-control way and my greatest hope is to help other people who feel the way I felt to feel better.”
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