A man who said he had "no quality of life" lost nearly 11st said he was now "living life to the fullest". Tony Loughran had stuggled with his weight for years and hit 28st.
His weight issues and their associated health consequences even meant Tony, 61, and his wife Mary had to sell their home and move into a bungalow to make life easier. Something had to change, so Tony decided to try Slimming World, reports LancsLive.
Tony, from Blackpool, said: "I literally couldn't tie my shoelaces, I couldn't get my shoes on. I had no quality of life, I was just existing. Mary was doing everything for me, I was just about able to get into the car. We actually moved to a bungalow about five years ago because we couldn't manage with the house.
"I was in and out of hospital, going to and from doctors' appointments, having eating problems. My health deteriorated, I was having heart problems. So when the leaflet for Slimming World landed through the door, it was a last resort."
Tony said he didn't hold out much hope from Slimming World, having weighed 28st at his heaviest. He had tried plenty of yo-yo diets to no avail over the years.
He said: "It was Mary that coaxed me in to joining, as she was overweight herself and wanted to give it a go. I thought there was absolutely no chance of me losing the weight, but Natalie (the group consultant for Blackpool Slimming World) and the rest of the group at Slimming World have been so supportive, and I've now lost about 10st 9lbs."
Tony described how, before joining Slimming World, he didn't realise just how much of the "wrong stuff" he and Mary were eating. He said: "We would always take the easy option, you know, chippy teas and stuff like that. We'd be thinking that we'd only have a Cornish pasty or something or a burger but it would be a lot when you're looking at Syns and stuff [with Slimming World] and we didn't realise.
"Now, we can still have a pizza, but we use our own tomato bases and make it ourselves. Instead of ordering a takeaway, we will make our own fake-away, we'd do our own chips in the air fryer and stuff like that. I'm also back at the gym. I go five to six times a week, and its probably the best thing I've been able to do since I've lost the weight."
Since losing 10st 9lbs, Tony said it was not just his physical health that had improved, but his mental health too: "It definitely improved my mental health, because before I couldn't do anything. I didn't want to basically socialise and meet people or couldn't get out. I was just existing.
"Now, people I've not seen in years because of the pandemic, some of them don't even recognise me. People tell me I look younger and just seem so much happier in myself."
Back in May, Tony and Mary were named Slimming World's 'Couple of the Year', having lost 13st between them in a year. The pair have also claimed the ‘Slimmer of the Week’ award 18 times between them.
Earlier this year Tony and Mary enjoyed a holiday to Mallorca, the first one in at least a decade. Tony was thrilled to be able to enjoy walks along the beach and round the town with Mary, when he would have previously hired a mobility scooter.
Tony said: "I hope this helps someone out there who thinks there's no hope, because that's what I thought, it was just existence for me, and now I'm living life to the fullest. So I hope they see this as a sign to do something about it, because there is hope."
