14/06/2026
Meet Phil a member from my Thursday evening SW Whitestone Group who is absolutely smashing 2026 with a 3.5 stone loss since January... This is Phil's story (shared with consent)
Slimming world has changed my life.
In January 2026 I was nearly 23 stone and in a bad way both mentally and physically. I was wearing clothes that were the largest I had ever worn... some were 4xl! And I struggled to walk up and down the stairs without getting exhausted. But the one that hit me hardest was that I was unable to play with my kids without getting tired after 30 seconds. Then one day I took a long hard look at myself in the mirror and I hated what I saw and knew I was the one responsible for my own downfall. Something had to change and it needed to change now but more importantly I had to take accountability for my actions.
Then I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a slimming world group had just started a stones throw from where I lived and i sent a text to Laura who welcomed me down to the next session in two days. It occurred to me that in order for me to take the accountability then I need to get out of my comfort zone.
On that first night, I was very nervous and even more uncomfortable, But those nerves and the uncomfortable feeling disappeared within 5 minutes of having a conversation with Laura and she explained the plan and what it takes to do it properly. If the fire that had been lit inside me that wanted to change wasn't burning then, it definitely is now! So I set myself a few goals that were weight related with my main goal being to drop 6 stone to get to 17st and I set a few that were more personal to me such as being able to walk into a sports shop and pick up a football shirt without having to worry if they stock what I call "fat man sizes"
I decided to make very small sustainable changes that will go a long way and the first change i made was to change my portion sizes. I adopted a certain plate that I would use for all my meals that was smaller than the rest and it worked. I lost 5.5lbs in the first weigh in! As I attended group each week, my confidence grew and my weight dropped losing 2 stone in my first 10 weeks in total!
But the biggest change i made was i tracked everything that went in my body and it was written in the book that I was given on the first session. Once the four week planner had been filled I thought "if it isn't broken then dont fix it" so I carried on tracking 100% EVERY SINGLE DAY by purchasing the Slimming World 12 week planner. I even measured myself every 4 weeks to see the difference and found it is incredible what tracking your measurements can do for confidence. In the planner I modified it slightly to keep me motivated for example, the section that says Where do you want to be in 12 weeks? I modified to say What motivates me, and I stuck in a photo of my children that way if im having a bad day, I look at that picture and im instantly reminded why im on this journey.
Each week is different, all the other members are so welcoming and they genuinely care about your journey and as the weeks go on, the more you look forward to spending that hour with like minded people who are so supportive its unreal! Slimming world is easily one of my favorite parts of my week now.
Now scroll forward to the middle of June, I am now training for a race for life where I intend to run every single meter of it to raise money for cancer research and I am approaching my goal very quickly. If someone had said that's what I will be doing in July, I would have laughed at them because how can a guy who can't walk up the stairs possibly do a 5k!
The best thing ive learned though is if you break up your overall goal into smaller goals because then the longer term one doesn't seem so unlikely. I set my longer term goal of 17 stone (the weight I was before I became a dad) and I thought it was overly optimistic but now I have broken it down, it seems as though it is now a matter of when and not if! At the time of writing this, I am just over 2 stone away and it is down to the support of my family, friends and also to Laura Santos and Antony Santos for helping me get this far
I couldn't have got to where I am now without the support of my family who have put up with obsessing and micro analysing every part of my journey like what was a 20 minute trolley dash turned into an hours shop because I scan everything to check the swip value!
Slimming world has changed my life for the better and I only have one regret and that is that I didn't join sooner. Not only am I in better physical condition but I am also in a better mental condition and that is down to this journey that im on.
Slimming world has indeed changed my life.
