Martin is strictly serious about making healthy changes

A police officer from Daventry who feared his weight would impact his health has lost 9st 3lbs and has taken up ballroom dancing.

Martin Turner, 36, decided to join Slimming World as he was struggling to keep up with the physical aspects of his job after his weight crept up over a period of 10 years.

Martin says: “My job can be stressful, and I’ve always worked irregular shifts which meant I ate a lot of quick and easy, but unhealthy, lunches and dinners.

“I’d tried a lot of diets, including an 800-calories a day diet, and I even cut out carbohydrates. Every attempt worked to a small degree, but they weren’t sustainable, and the weight would soon go back on when I stopped eating that way.

Martin joined his local Slimming World group in July 2022 following a referral from his GP. Although initially nervous about walking into his group for the first time, Martin says he was warmly welcomed by Consultant Leanne Saunders and the other group members.

He says: “I wasn’t looking forward to my first day at group because I had this perception that Slimming World is more for women, and I wouldn’t fit in. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, and everybody made me feel supported from the very start of my weight-loss journey.”

Since joining, Martin has lost 9st 3lbs following Slimming World’s Food Optimising healthy eating plan and is still able to enjoy his favourite meals like chicken stir fry and Chinese style fakeaways.

“I expected Leanne to tell me that I had to follow a strict diet in order to achieve my goals; I wondered how many food groups I’d have to cut out or which of my favourite meals I’d no longer be able to enjoy. So imagine the relief when I found out nothing was off limits with Slimming World!”

It’s not only his food choices that have helped Martin turn his health around; he has also increased his fitness with the help of Slimming World’s Body Magic physical activity support programme. Martin started to slowly build up his activity levels by getting off the bus a couple of stops early and walking to his destination. These additional daily steps then turned into regular jogs as his fitness improved and he took on the Couch to 5k challenge.

Losing weight and becoming more physically fit gave Martin the confidence to accompany his wife Sarah to their first ballroom dancing class, something she’d been asking him to do for a long time.

He said: “There has always been a physical side to my job but outside of work I didn’t exercise. Similarly to my food choices, I knew I wanted to change but I just didn’t know where to start. What I really like about Slimming World’s activity programme is that I could do any exercise I enjoyed and take it all at my own pace.

“Sarah and I have always watched Strictly Come Dancing, and she has been talking about taking ballroom dancing lessons for years. I always shrugged it off as something that would just never happen. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it at the size I was, and I never thought I’d lose enough weight to be light on my feet. After losing the weight and gaining confidence, I was so pleased to tell Sarah that I finally wanted to go – and she was delighted too.

“When we sit down to watch the Strictly final this year, I’ll definitely have a greater appreciation of the dancer’s skills and feel pleased in how far I’ve come in being able to hit the dancefloor myself!”

Martin’s group is now run by Consultant Louise Heath, who also runs her own group in Daventry.

Martin’s menu before and after weight loss