Shropshire Star

Spring in the step for Shropshire weight loss pair

Looking for inspiration for a New Year diet? Meet two people who between them have lost an incredible 15 stone.

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Stuart Dawson and Hayley Mackenzie have an extra spring in their step for 2015 – and say they feel a ticking health timebomb has been lifted from them.

Stuart, of Millfield Drive, Market Drayton, used to tip the scales at 23 stone 13lbs.

But now after embarking on a healthier lifestyle the 34-year-old has reached his target weight of 15 stone 3lbs in a year. In fact he has done so well he is currently 14 stone 13 lbs.

His dramatic weight loss stemmed from the death of his father Peter Dawson.

Stuart, who is a chef at Bridgemere Garden World in Nantwich, said: "My dad died a couple of years ago from cancer and he was always telling me my weight was steadily on the increase.

Stuart used to weigh 23 stone 13lbs

"I started to notice that walking up stairs had become more difficult and I was often out of breath. I had become grumpy and unhappy at work.

"When my dad went into a hospice he said 'I want you to lose some weight' – that was actually one of the last things he said to me.

"It eventually spurred me on. Every time I picked up a bar of chocolate or white bread with loads of butter on I thought of what he said."

His journey to shedding the weight began last January after using Slimming World diet plans from classes at Grove School in Market Drayton.

He said: "I completely overhauled my eating habits and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables now. I used to gorge on chocolate until I felt sick sometimes and, looking back, I do not know how I did it."

Hayley was a size 18 and decided it was "now or never" to shed the pounds.

Now she's six stone lighter and far happier, the mother-of-two has returned to work for the first time in four years and launched her own business.

Hayley, 47, says she spent most of 2013 lying on the sofa, comfort eating and feeling low in confidence.

She went from a size 18 to a size eight and can now fit her body into one leg of her old jeans.

Hayley before she started dieting

She said: "I had run my own business in the past but with various problems I had lost the ability and the confidence to do that.

"Over these past six months since reaching my target and maintaining my weight I've realised I've not only lost more than six stone, but I've gained a new lease on life and a new job which enables me to work from home, see my family – and, most importantly, help others achieve what I have."

With a BMI of nearly 40, Hayley knew she was putting her health at risk but her life began to change when she found the Cambridge Weight Plan.

Now weighing 8 stone 7lbs with a healthy BMI and donning size eight skinny jeans she has maintained her weight for the past six months whilst training to be a weight loss consultant.

Hayley, from Lawley Village in Telford, added: "I love doing the school run now and I can even do handstands and cartwheels now with my girls, who are nine and 11.

"Many of my friends have walked past me in the street since the weight loss as they have not recognised the new me.

"I was at the lowest of the low and I never thought I would get out of it but then something clicked and I knew I had to do it – not only for myself but for my very supportive husband and for the girls.

"For them to see their mum lying on the sofa must have been awful but now they struggle to keep up with me.

"We can now share our love for fashion, shopping, walking, cycling and generally enjoying the family fun I ever so nearly missed out on."

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