Fenland family have lost a whopping 18 stone in weight between them
Not every family would be happy to announce they are a bunch of losers - but for one Fenland family it is something to be proud of.
Teresa Woollard, her two daughters, Charlotte and Georgia and her son-in-law Tim are all celebrating weight loss achievements having shed a whopping 18 stone between them.
Teresa, 49, from Outwell, who works as a medical secretary at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, is the biggest loser of all having lost nearly seven stone in 18 months.
A trip to New York with youngest daughter Georgia, 23, last December, and the fear of having to ask for a seat belt extension was the spur Teresa needed to sign up to Slimming World and drop the weight.
She said: "We had booked the trip last February and I was horribly aware that I might need to ask for a seat belt extension on the plane, and I thought 'I don't want to have that embarrassment' - so I joined Slimming World in February 2019 with the intention of losing just a stone - I thought that would be enough to save myself the embarrassment. I was also worried about keeping up with Georgia and her friend while we were in New York as they are both young and reasonably fit.
"I was hoping to lose about a stone, and I would have been happy with that. But as the weight started to come off I decided to keep going. By the time it came to New York in December I had lost five stone - so there was no question of needing the seatbelt extension or any worry about keeping up with the girls.
"I have carried on with Slimming World through lockdown and have lost nearly seven stone - my aim is to lose 100lbs and I have about 8lbs to go. Once I have done that then I will give myself time to adjust and to keep my weight stable before trying to lose a bit more."
Teresa's amazing efforts spurred eldest daughter Charlotte, 30, a mother of one who had piled on the pounds through pregnancy, to also want to lose weight. She and partner Tim Preston, who live in Fenstanton, have been calorie counting as their weight loss mechanism and so far Charlotte, who is a district nurse in Cambridge, has lost six stone, while Tim is nearly three stone lighter.
Georgia caught the weight loss bug when she moved in with her mum and dad, Paul, at the start of lockdown. She has been following the Slimming World easy plan along with Teresa and has lost two stone in five months.
Teresa has also taken up running to help build her fitness and has completed the 'Couch to 5k Challenge' during lockdown.
"To be honest I am most proud of that, probably more than the weight loss, as I have never really been sporty. I now hope to keep up with the running and to keep the weight off."
