Banbury couple who slim together, stay together

Mark and Maureen Hieatt are members of the Frank Wise group of Slimming World and for the past three years have maintained their dream target weight, making them diamond target members.

Maureen and Mark knew they were overweight and knew they needed to do something about it when just walking up stairs made them out of breath, so together they joined the slimming group.

Maureen said: “I had been to Weight Watchers about six times previously. I lost weight but the then put it back on again. We had friends that had joined Slimming World and said it was worth a try. So, we gave it a try and have never looked back since.

“I love that with Slimming Worlds food optimising plan we can plan our menus and be in complete control of what we are eating, filling up on free foods without having to count calories. We are still really into our food - we love fruits and vegetables but also love that we have our sins to indulge and use for the extras when we want to.

Everyone’s journey is different and everyone has different experiences and struggles but the couple motivated each other to stay on course.

Maureen said: "We both knew we wanted to loose weight, so the want was there, which kept us driven and determined. Here we are maintaining our target weight. Doing it together made such a difference to our individual journeys.

”We would plan, shop and still eat good yummy food.”

Losing weight has now meant the couple can walk upstairs without being out of breath and can enjoy life, go on holiday and sunbathe without feeling self-conscious, have lower blood pressure and a healthy cholesterol level.

Health benefits aside, one thing the couple have also gained is gaining more confidence, Maureen said: “It's about being more confident and making new friends and getting to target. We still go to the group and staying at target has made everything so much more enjoyable.”

Consultant Bex Neale, who runs the group, added: “Maureen and Mark are such a huge inspiration to so many members of the group. They always share hints, tips recipes, picture of food, support care and encouragement.

For more information on the Banbury Slimming World group at Frank Wise visit their Facebook page.