20
December
2016
|
09:46
Europe/Amsterdam

Let the magic begin: Slimmers’ Christmas wishes come true – video

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Let the #slim4xmas magic begin...
  • Counting down to Christmas, Slimming World members were asked to share their Christmas wishes and, while many chose weight-loss targets, others set their sights on ‘non-scale victories’ they wouldn’t have been able to achieve at their heaviest

  • Now Slimming World, the UK’s favourite weight-loss organisation, is making a number of slimmers’ Christmas wishes come true as part of surprise campaign

  • Video shows an emotional Krystina Wright, who has lost 7st 3lbs with Slimming World, being given a holiday to take her husband and two young sons on their first trip abroad. Watch it here.

  • Slimmers made wishes as part of Slimming World’s #slim4xmas campaign, which aims to help members of the organisation’s 16,000 groups to stay on track in the run up to Christmas.

A slimming organisation that specialises in making people’s weight-loss dreams come true has also been busy granting Christmas wishes this festive season.

In October Slimming World asked its members across the UK and Ireland to make a wish that they’d love to achieve by December 25th. While some members hoped to hit weight-loss targets, lots of people who had already lost weight wished for things they never dreamed possible before slimming.

To celebrate the amazing weight losses slimmers have seen since then – a total of nearly 250,000st*, Slimming World wanted to spread some Christmas magic and surprise some lucky members by making their non-scale-victory-style wishes come true as well.

Early Christmas gifts delivered by Slimming World included theme park tickets for a member who wanted to celebrate being able to fit into rollercoasters, an activity tracker for someone looking make the most of their new-found fitness and reduce their 10k run time, and a shopping voucher for a woman keen to show off her new slimmer figure in a slinky black dress.

Krystina Wright, who has lost 7st 3lbs since joining her local Slimming World group in October 2015, was captured on camera when her Consultant announced that her Christmas wish to take her two young sons on their first-ever family holiday abroad would come true.

The 30-year-old, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, says: “I was absolutely speechless – I still can’t believe this is happening to us. At my heaviest I would never have had the confidence to go abroad on holiday – I’d have worried about fitting into the seats on the plane, feeling uncomfortable in the heat and I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing a swimming costume in public. Now thanks to Slimming World we’ve booked a holiday to Lanzarote in May and can’t wait to take the boys away and feel like a normal family.

“I always felt like my weight was getting in the way of being the mum my boys deserved. Now life’s completely different and that’s the best Christmas present I could ever ask for, but receiving this holiday is the icing on the cake – it’s the perfect end to the perfect year.”

Krystina Wright
It’s the perfect end to the perfect year.
Krystina Wright

Members wrote their ‘wishes’ on specially-designed gift tags, which were given out in Slimming World’s 16,000 groups across the UK and Ireland, and they were encouraged to share them on social media using #slim4xmas. The initiative was part of Slimming World’s #slim4xmas campaign, which is in its third year and aims to help members stay on track with their weight-loss campaign throughout the often challenging run up to Christmas. This is the first year Slimming World has surprised slimmers with gifts and the organisation’s first surprise-style film.

Slimming World Head of External Affairs Jenny Caven says: “This year nearly 235,000 people have achieved their dream weight. At Slimming World we know weight loss is about much more that what the scales say – it’s also about the way members feel differently about themselves, how they grow in confidence and enjoy doing things that they felt they couldn’t do before or were self-conscious about.

“Our members achieve their dreams every week of the year, whether that’s hitting a weight-loss target or achieving something they never thought possible before slimming down. Losing weight lifts not just a physical burden, it lifts an emotional and psychological burden too. One of the Christmas wishes that a member shared was that she wanted to have the confidence to wear red lipstick. Another was from a member who wanted some time to themselves.

“Since our #slim4xmas campaign began in October, we’ve seen thousands of members celebrating and sharing their success. Christmas is always a magical time at Slimming World. Preparing for Christmas and a great start to the New Year adds up to a very busy time, and it’s good to take a moment to pause and remind ourselves about what’s most important: giving, supporting and spreading love and joy. While we know that no one joined Slimming World to get a holiday or new dress, we couldn’t resist spreading a little more Slimming World sparkle!”

To watch the full video visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk and members can continue to share their own Christmas wishes by using #slim4xmas – because you never know what can happen when you believe in Slimming World magic!

Case study

Krystina Wright, 30, from Atherstone, joined Slimming World in October 2015 weighing 17st 5lbs and has since dropped to 10st 2lbs, having lost 7st 3lbs in total. She lives with her husband Eddy, who has also lost 4st 7lbs, and two sons Noah, three, and 21-month-old Jude.

She says:

"This time last year I was obese, unhealthy and unhappy. I barely left the house because I was too scared of bumping into someone and be judged about ‘letting myself go’ since I’d had children.

"When I fell pregnant with my first child, Noah, I took full advantage of eating for two and I developed diet-related gestational diabetes. I never really lost the baby weight after he was born. Then, nine months later, I fell pregnant with Jude and developed gestational diabetes again, this time much worse. He was induced three weeks early and was taken straight into special care because of his blood sugar levels and premature lungs. I blamed myself for putting my babies at risk.

"The final straw came when I saw photos from my sister’s baby shower. I was mortified. Plus, I knew that I was in serious danger of developing diabetes long-term if I didn’t lose weight.

“My life changed forever when I joined Slimming World. It’s like someone waved a magic wand. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and I walked out of the group feeling like a massive weight had been lifted. I felt like this was something I could do.

"Slimming World’s Food Optimising healthy eating plan has become a way of life for my whole family. We used to live on takeaways, now I love making ‘fakeaways’ like chicken curry and egg fried rice. We spend a lot of time at our allotment, growing vegetables and teaching the boys about healthy food. My husband Eddy, 30, has also joined group and has lost more than 4 stones.

"I got to target in 33 weeks and stayed on track through Christmas, Easter, birthdays and on holiday. Not once have I ever felt hungry or deprived.

"Losing weight gave me the confidence to start blogging and sharing photos of my journey on Facebook and Instagram. I have thousands of followers who help keep me on track. I love inspiring people, too – if I can do it, anyone can. The most rewarding part is being able to give others hope that losing weight is possible. I don’t want anyone to feel how I felt.

"When I show Noah my old photos he doesn’t recognise me. He only knows his happy mummy who runs around the garden with the hose pipe, the mummy that can fit onto the rides at the theme park and the mummy who carries him on her shoulders. The mummy my boys deserve." – ends –

Notes to Editors

Slimming World was founded by Margaret Miles-Bramwell (OBE, FRSA) in 1969. There are now more than 18,000 groups held weekly across the UK and Republic of Ireland via a network of 4,000 community-based Slimming World Consultants, who receive specific training in the role of diet and physical activity in weight management, as well as sophisticated behaviour-change techniques.

Slimming World’s healthy eating plan, Food Optimising, is based on the science of satiety and energy density. Our phased activity programme, Body Magic, eases members into activity until it becomes an intrinsic part of their daily routine. The principles behind Slimming World’s philosophy are based on a deep understanding of the challenges faced by overweight people and a recognition that those who struggle with weight carry a double burden, the weight itself and a burden of guilt and shame about their weight. Slimming World’s programme integrates practical, up-to-date advice with a highly developed support system based on care and compassion, and Consultant training focuses on facilitating behaviour change in a warm and friendly group environment. Consultant training is delivered through the Slimming World Academy. Slimming World also invests in a comprehensive research programme to develop its support for long-term weight management. The group support provided by Slimming World is recognised as effective by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the NHS.

For more information about Slimming World’s approach visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk or call 0344 897 8000.

For the Press Office please email public.relations@slimmingworld.co.uk