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Introduction

Welcome to Deniz’s Weight Loss Journey.

In this series, we will follow Deniz as she changes her life one small step at a time. Like many people, she has a busy job, spends long hours sitting at a desk, and finds it difficult to live a healthy life. But one day, she decides that it is time for a change.

Let’s begin her story.

Deniz is thirty-two years old and lives alone in a small apartment in Istanbul. She works as an accountant for a large company, and like many people in the city, she spends a lot of time going to work and coming back home. Her office is not very far away, but the traffic is always heavy, so her journey usually takes almost an hour.

Every weekday, her alarm rings at 6:30 in the morning. She almost never gets out of bed immediately. Instead, she closes her eyes again and says, “Just five more minutes.”

Five minutes quickly become fifteen, and then she has to rush around the apartment. She gets dressed, brushes her teeth, puts her laptop into her bag, and leaves home without having breakfast.

“I’ll eat something at work,” she tells herself almost every morning.

When Deniz finally arrives at the office, she already feels tired. She sits down at her desk, turns on her computer, and starts answering emails. During the day, she prepares reports, joins meetings, talks to her colleagues, and spends hours looking at numbers on her screen.

Sometimes she looks out of the window and thinks, I have been sitting here for three hours. I should stand up and walk for a few minutes.

But there is always another email to answer or another meeting to join.

At lunchtime, her friend Melis comes to her desk with a smile.

“I’m really hungry,” she says. “Do you want to have lunch together?”

“Of course,” Deniz replies. “I didn’t even have breakfast today.”

They walk to a small fast-food restaurant near the office. The waiter already knows Deniz because she comes there several times a week.

“The usual?” he asks.

Deniz smiles.

“Yes, please.”

A few minutes later, she is eating a cheeseburger, large fries, and drinking a big cola.

Melis looks at her and laughs.

“You always order the same thing.”

“I know,” Deniz says. “It’s quick, it’s easy, and I like it.”

“You should try the chicken salad one day,” Melis says. “It’s actually very good.”

“Maybe next time,” Deniz answers, but they both know she will probably order the same meal again.

When they return to the office, Deniz starts feeling sleepy. She buys a large coffee and a chocolate bar because she thinks they will help her stay awake.

For a short time, they do.

Then she feels tired again.

After work, Deniz often thinks about exercising.

Sometimes she even parks her car near a beautiful park and watches people walking, running, or riding bicycles.

I can start today, she thinks.

But after sitting in traffic for almost an hour, she only wants to go home.

She usually orders food on her phone, sits comfortably on the sofa, and watches TV until bedtime.

“I’ll start eating healthy on Monday,” she says.

The problem is that every Monday looks exactly the same.

Weeks become months, and little by little, Deniz gains more weight. She also notices that simple things are becoming more difficult. Walking upstairs makes her breathe heavily, and carrying shopping bags feels harder than before.

One Saturday afternoon, while she is cleaning her apartment, she finds an old photo album in the back of her wardrobe.

She sits on the floor and begins looking through the pictures.

One photo catches her attention immediately.

It was taken five years ago during a holiday with her friends.

She is wearing a blue summer dress, laughing at the camera, and holding an ice cream in her hand.

“I remember that day,” she says with a smile.

A few minutes later, her phone rings.

It is her cousin Ayşe.

“Hi, Deniz! I’m so excited about my wedding next month. Have you found a dress yet?”

Deniz smiles.

“I’ll look this weekend,” she answers.

After the call, she walks to her wardrobe and takes out her favorite blue dress. She wore it many times a few years ago, and she remembers how comfortable it was.

She slowly puts it on and tries to close the zipper.

It doesn’t move.

She tries again.

Still nothing.

For a long moment, Deniz stands quietly in front of the mirror.

She doesn’t feel angry.

She doesn’t even feel surprised.

She only feels sad because she knows this didn’t happen in one day.

It happened little by little, every time she said, Tomorrow will be different.

That evening, she opens her laptop and searches for ways to lose weight safely.

After reading several articles, one sentence stays in her mind.

“You don’t have to change your whole life in one day. You only have to take the first step.”

Deniz closes her laptop, takes a notebook from her desk, and writes four simple goals.

Drink more water.

Walk every day.

Eat healthier food.

Never give up.

She looks at the page for a few seconds, smiles softly, and whispers,

“This time, I really will start.”

The next morning, she makes an appointment with a dietitian.

She knows her new life is about to begin.

Coming Next…

In Part 2: Meeting the Dietitian, Deniz takes her first real step toward a healthier life. Will changing her eating habits be easier than she thinks—or much harder?

📚 Vocabulary (Kelime Listesi)

English	Türkçesi	Example Sentence
accountant	muhasebeci	Deniz works as an accountant for a large company.
traffic	trafik	The traffic is always heavy in the morning.
rush	acele etmek	She has to rush every morning.
colleague	iş arkadaşı	She talks to her colleagues every day.
prepare reports	rapor hazırlamak	Deniz prepares reports at work.
meeting	toplantı	She joins several meetings every week.
fast-food restaurant	fast-food restoranı	They have lunch at a fast-food restaurant.
cheeseburger	çizburger	She orders a cheeseburger for lunch.
gain weight	kilo almak	Deniz slowly gains weight.
wardrobe	gardırop	She finds an old photo album in her wardrobe.
zipper	fermuar	The zipper doesn’t move.
safely	güvenli bir şekilde	She wants to lose weight safely.
dietitian	diyetisyen	She makes an appointment with a dietitian.
goal	hedef	Deniz writes four simple goals.
give up	pes etmek	Never give up on your dreams.

✍️ Exercises

A. Match the Words (Eşleştirme)

A	B
1. Accountant	a. Fermuar
2. Traffic	b. Diyetisyen
3. Wardrobe	c. Muhasebeci
4. Dietitian	d. Trafik
5. Zipper	e. Gardırop

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B. Fill in the Blanks

Choose the correct word.

(accountant • traffic • dietitian • goals • give up)

1. Deniz works as an __________.
2. The __________ is always heavy in Istanbul.
3. She makes an appointment with a __________.
4. She writes four simple __________.
5. She promises never to __________.

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C. True or False?

Write True (T) or False (F).

1. Deniz lives with her parents.
2. She often skips breakfast.
3. She usually eats healthy salads for lunch.
4. She finds an old photo album.
5. She decides to make an appointment with a dietitian.

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D. Choose the Correct Answer

1. Where does Deniz live?

a) Ankara

b) Izmir

c) Istanbul

2. What does Deniz usually eat for lunch?

a) Chicken salad

b) Cheeseburger and fries

c) Soup

3. Why does she buy coffee?

a) Because she is cold.

b) Because she wants to stay awake.

c) Because she likes tea.

4. What can’t she close?

a) Her laptop

b) The wardrobe

c) The zipper of her dress

5. What does she write in her notebook?

a) A shopping list

b) Four simple goals

c) A letter

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E. Complete the Sentences

1. Deniz works as an __________________________.
2. She usually leaves home without __________________________.
3. After work, she often thinks about __________________________.
4. The blue dress reminds her of __________________________.
5. The next morning, she makes an appointment with __________________________.

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F. Answer the Questions

1. Why is Deniz always tired in the morning?
2. Why doesn’t she exercise after work?
3. How does Deniz feel when the blue dress doesn’t fit?
4. What are the four goals that she writes?
5. What is the first step she takes to change her life?

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✅ Answer Key

A.

1 → c

2 → d

3 → e

4 → b

5 → a

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B.

1. accountant
2. traffic
3. dietitian
4. goals
5. give up

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C.

1. False
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. True

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D.

1. c) Istanbul
2. b) Cheeseburger and fries
3. b) Because she wants to stay awake.
4. c) The zipper of her dress
5. b) Four simple goals

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E.

Örnek cevaplar:

1. an accountant.
2. having breakfast.
3. exercising.
4. her holiday with her friends.
5. a dietitian.

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F.

Örnek cevaplar:

1. Because she wakes up late, skips breakfast, and rushes to work.
2. Because she is tired after work and spending time in traffic.
3. She feels sad because she realizes the weight gain happened little by little.
4. Drink more water, walk every day, eat healthier food, and never give up.
5. She makes an appointment with a dietitian.