For as long as she could remember, Rondi Neuven loved chocolate.

As a little girl, she would spend her pocket money not on a single chocolate bar, but on bags of chocolate chips instead – 'just to get extra bang for my buck,' she says.

Eating – and plenty of it – remained one of life's great pleasures well into adulthood.

Breakfast might be bagels slathered in what she admits was 'lord knows how much butter' along with sausages. Lunches were quesadillas oozing with melted cheese. And whenever cravings struck, chocolate was never far away.

By the age of 42, that lifelong love affair with food had taken its toll. Neuven weighed 362lbs and was medically classified as obese.

Yet she insists she never saw herself as unhealthy. The mother-of-one had no major medical conditions and regarded herself simply as a 'very happy, confident, bigger person'.

When she struggled to squeeze into restaurant booths or chairs with armrests, she brushed it off as little more than an inconvenience.

Even when airlines told her she would need to buy two seats if she wanted to fly, she says she felt more frustrated than ashamed.

But it did finally push her into taking action – largely because it threatened to cost her more money.

Neuven, an avid saver, says the prospect of paying for two airline seats was the tipping point.

'I wanted to be able to go all-inclusive,' she admits. 'Packages just don't include that second seat.'

She had attempted to lose weight before – trying everything from WeightWatchers to the Atkins diet.

But like so many dieters, she found the pounds always crept back on the moment she stopped.

This time, however, she was determined not simply to slim down, but to keep the weight off for good.

And remarkably, she did.

Today, a decade later, Neuven, now 54, is 208lbs lighter – having shed the weight over the course of just two years.

Her unlikely secret? A cheap fibre supplement called psyllium husk, which some fans have dubbed 'nature's Ozempic' because of its appetite-suppressing effects, alongside broader changes to her diet and lifestyle.

In recent years, psyllium husk has exploded in popularity online, with influencers claiming the powder can tame cravings, keep people fuller for longer and even help shift stubborn weight without the misery of constant hunger.

Neuven cannot remember exactly where she first heard about it, though she suspects the recommendation came from her father, who was also trying to lose weight at the time.

She began taking it every morning – mixing a tablespoon of the powder into a smoothie containing a banana, berries, Greek yoghurt and spinach.

The drink replaced those butter-laden bagels and sausages.

Neuven says: 'You can't taste the psyllium husk. That was the best part about mixing it into the smoothie – it just made it thick.'

The effect was almost immediate. 

Within the first two to three weeks on the supplement she lost a few pounds seemingly without effort. 

Thanks to the smoothie, the constant 'food noise' – the intrusive thoughts about eating, cravings and urges to snack that many overweight people describe – seemed to fade into the background.

'Before, I just ate when I wanted, snacked when I wanted – I just gave in to cravings,' she says.

'Sometimes when I would eat, I would feel like I was not done, and I would eat more food afterwards.

'I used to hide chocolate under the vegetables in the fridge drawer so I'd always have something available.

'But the psyllium husk smoothies seemed to really fill me up. I stopped feeling the urge to snack, and when I did eat, I felt fuller sooner.'

Neuven's experience is far from unique – and a growing body of research suggests there may be genuine science behind psyllium husk's reputation as a natural appetite suppressant.

A 2023 review, published in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, found overweight or obese adults who took the supplement before meals lost more than 4lbs over five months on average.

Meanwhile, a 2018 meta-analysis found that taking just 10g of psyllium daily significantly reduced levels of LDL – so-called 'bad' cholesterol, which can build up inside arteries and raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

John Lukey, a UK nutritionist, previously told the Daily Mail: 'Psyllium husk, as one of the most well-researched supplements out there, is an incredibly effective way for users to lose weight.'

But other experts stress that psyllium husk is not some miracle fat-burning drug.

Instead, like glucomannan and other fibre-based supplements, it works largely by absorbing water in the gut and expanding into a gel-like substance, helping people feel fuller for longer and naturally eat less.

And some warn there can be downsides to relying too heavily on such products.

Because the supplements can blunt appetite so effectively, experts say some people may end up eating too little overall – potentially missing out on important vitamins, minerals and protein needed for good health. 

For her weight loss plan, Neuven says she changed one habit every two to three weeks to help her stick to her targets.

After adding psyllium husk, next she swapped out her regular lunch; changing it to a salad with hot sauce – so she could get more flavor.

Then, she switched her snacks, swapping chocolate for raw vegetables.

Not wanting to live entirely without chocolate, however, she made a compromise. 

She would be allowed two Hershey kisses after lunch and three after dinner. 'I couldn't see myself every completely giving up chocolate,' she says.

After that, she added in exercise. 

She started with Zumba once or twice a week, which she did at home in her basement, and then she got on the treadmill.

Neuven started slow, being on the treadmill for just five minutes a time. But then, every two to three weeks, she slightly boosted the speed and the time, until she was running for 30 minutes every week.

She also changed her commute, taking one flight of stairs when she got to the office before taking the elevator, and then upgrading this to two flights and so forth.

When she started her weight loss plan, in 2014, weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro were not widely available. 

Neuven said she understands the draw of the drugs, and still battles food cravings from time to time, but does not believe she would have taken them, saying her main aim was to 'reset my relationship' with food.

Neuven said the weight loss went in stages, and that she would lose several pounds at a time and then plateau for weeks, before losing more weight. 

In 2017, after the weight loss, left with large amounts of sagging, lax skin, she had skin tightening surgery on her arms and a tummy tuck to help her to feel her best. 

And in the fall of that year, she did finally book that all-inclusive package vacation to Mexico – staying in Puerto Vallarta.

'It was fantastic,' says Neuven. 'Buying that package was such a celebratory moment for me.

'It was awesome, just being able to buy that without having to worry whether I would fit into airplane seats.'