Meet the Birstall slimmers who have lost 140 stone so far in 2023

All together, the 200 members of the Birstall Community Centre Wednesday Slimming World group are now 125 stone lighter in 2023 than they were at Christmas.

The members of the six groups, run by Yvonne Wood, follow Slimming World’s Food Optimising eating plan created by the organisation’s team of expert nutritionists, which encourages them to fill up on foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes, lean meat and fish, pulses and fruit and veg.

Yvonne, who opened her first Birstall group in 1998, has revealed she is “delighted” with her members’ progress.

She said: “I’m delighted that my members have lost weight so beautifully. It has made a big difference to their lives and to their whole families’ lives, and all of them are happier and healthier now.

“I just want to help even more people to make real changes for life – there’s no better job satisfaction than that!”

One of the members added: “Reaching this milestone as a group just proves the huge change that we’ve all made to our lives - some people who’ve lost big amounts of weight have probably even saved their lives.

“It’s brilliant to celebrate together as well because that’s how we’ve been losing weight - together. Every week we support and encourage each other and share tips and recipes, and, on top of that, we have a lot of fun.”

Yvonne’s six Slimming World sessions at Birstall Community Centre are held every Wednesday at 9.30am, 11.00am, 12.30pm, 4.00pm, 5.30pm and 7.00pm.

For more information, or to join, call Yvonne on 07727137854, or visit the Slimming World website at www.slimmingworld.com