Losing weight has given Neil Bowers and Caroline Varney-Bowers from Norwich a new lease of life. Out went the restrictive diets and calorie counting and in came the sociable, friendly and fun way of losing weight at Slimming World. They’ve been crowned our Couple of the Year 2011 and share with us their sensational story…
“I’ve been overweight since childhood and Neil started putting on weight once he left the RAF when he was 26-years-old” says Caroline. “Over the years my clothes size crept up and the final straw came when someone asked me if I was pregnant – I was distraught!
“We’ve made various attempts to lose weight in the past including calorie counting, cutting out food groups and buying meal replacement milkshakes. They worked in the short term but we found them too restrictive and we’d soon get bored, come off plan and put the weight back on!
“In recent years I’d struggled to find nice clothes that fit and I had no energy to run after my two children, so I joined my local Slimming World group and was welcomed with open arms by my Consultant, Julia. She explained Food Optimising and the Extra Easy plan sounded right up my street – I couldn’t wait to get started!
Both Neil and I have huge appetites and Food Optimising encouraged us to load our plates with Free Foods like lean meats, pasta, potatoes and vegetables. A favourite in our house is a Slimming World-style full English breakfast piled high with bacon, low-fat sausages, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs and potatoes – the kids love it!
“I started seeing results straight away and two months later, after nearly getting stuck on a ride at Alton Towers, Neil decided to join Slimming World too. We’ve always done things together and we knew Slimming World was the healthiest and most effective way for us to both lose weight – and keep it off for good!
“The great thing about Slimming World is that you can go to any group you like – all you need is your XpressWeigh card and Food Optimising book. Neil and I sometimes attend different groups so we don’t have to hire a babysitter or change our shifts at work. We’ve both made tonnes of friends – both groups always ask us how our ‘other halves’ are doing.
“The support network both in and out of group has been the key to our success. The tips and advice shared during Image Therapy are fab for keeping us on track. Julia sends us weekly e-cards to keep us motivated mid-week and we love the website and magazine for inspiration. We support each other and if either of us ever have a bad week we go back to basics and complete a food diary – it’s a great way of knowing where were going wrong.
“Body Magic plays a big part of our lives; I love going dancing, swimming and walking and Neil cycles to work. We’ve got so much energy and simple household jobs like cleaning the car, gardening and housework count as Body Magic and they’re so much easier to do now we’re slim. I’ve never felt so fit and healthy and Neil plans to do a parachute jump for Help the Heros this year!
“Slimming World has given us the tools to lead happier, healthier lives and our new-found confidence as a couple shows in everything we do. Best of all, family life is just fantastic and we can now run circles around our two boys – they struggle to keep up with us!”