Nearly 4 and a half stone lighter Andrew is proud to report that his life, his health and his relationship are stronger than ever thanks to Unislim. “I started to put on the weight from the age of 30 on wards. I was married with kids, eating lots of takeaways, and had given up things like football so wasn’t really exercising anymore. Then at Christmas in 2014, I was getting dressed for a funeral and I put on a suit. The shirt just about went around me. The suit jacket was tighter again, and I thought: enough is enough and joined Unislim Belmullet with Leader Maureen Gallagher.
“Amanda and I were talking about losing weight and we decided then to make a change so we joined Unislim on the 7th of January 2015.
“I’m not a great cook, but I’ve learned to cook more since. We’d each do our own lunches, and then we’d split the dinners – Amanda would do four or five a week and I’d try to do a couple. That way we each got what we liked individually during the day but for dinner we’d eat things we liked together.
“There’s always a bit of friendly competition between us. We’d have weeks where she would lose a pound more than me, or I would lose a pound more than her. You’d be tempted to put the foot on the scales on her weigh-in to add on a couple of pounds!
But we always encouraged each other and spurred each other on. I really think I would have struggled on my own. It’s very difficult if one person is eating takeaways while you’re trying to stick to healthy dinners.
“I probably would have tried to do something on my own, but definitely it makes a huge difference to do it with someone else. I think I would have struggled to go by myself, but I soon realised I wasn’t on my own with the support from my leaders. The meetings definitely keep you on track and I’d encourage anyone to go and give them a shot.”
Feeling inspired by Andrew’s transformation story? Join your local Unislim class here, and remember you can vote for the member you find most inspiring here, for our Amazing Achievement Award.
