Couple ditch takeaways and lose 11st together
Every Friday in this house was ‘Fat Friday’, and we’d have a takeaway on a Saturday as well. Marie Thornton
A DERBY couple have spurred each other on to lose more than 11st between them in just 11 months.
Marie and Michael Thornton, of Chaddesden, were struggling with their weight and both tipped the scales at more than 20st in January.
Fearing health problems associated with being overweight, the couple, who have been together for 10 years, were determined to slim down and made big diet and lifestyle changes.
Michael, 32, has since lost more than 6st 8lb, and Marie, 36, has lost more than 4st.
Michael, who works as a vehicle inspector, recalled how having several fast-food takeaways every weekend contributed to their weight gain.
He said: “We would have takeaways every Friday and Saturday night, then two sausage and egg McMuffin meals each from McDonald’s most Sunday mornings.
“I was just generally fed up of being fat as I struggled to get clothes in my size when I was a 2/3XL.
“We were fearing health problems and got to the stage where weight loss and getting healthier just needed to happen.”
Since joining Sam Holmes’ St Joseph’s Church Slimming World group alongside Marie in January, Michael has gone from 21st 1.5lb to 14st 7.5lb. He also took up running earlier this year. Having started with the Couch to 5k app, he now goes out for a run three times a week.
Michael, who can now fit into large T-shirts, said: “I’ve definitely got more energy, feel healthier and less lethargic thanks to the exercise I do now. I’d never ran properly in my life as I’d always been big, but now I actually really enjoy running.
“I started just to see if I could complete the Couch to 5k, but now I go out for a run three times a week.
“It has definitely helped both eating same meals at night, and it gets to be a competition b between us each h week k over who can lose the most, which helps to spur us both on.”
Mum-of-two Marie was a size 24 at the start of this year, and reached her heaviest ever weight of 20st 3lb.
Looking back at the problems she faced, Marie, who works as a cleaner, said: “The weight was slowly creeping on and I reached the heaviest I’d ever been. Every Friday in this house was ‘Fat Friday’, and we’d have a takeaway on a Saturday as well. Then it was all processed food, anything you can take out of a bag and straight into the oven.
“I would skip breakfast and lunch most days. I loved savoury food like cheese rolls and scotch eggs. It got to the point where I thought ‘oh god, I’ve got to do something about this’.”
Since getting the motivation needed to lose weight, Marie has since slimmed down to 15st 11.5lb and is now a size 14 to 16.
Revealing the changes she has made to her diet, Marie said: “In the last 10 months, we’ve only had two takeaways. Nothing comes out of a jar anymore, everything is made from scratch and it is nice to have fresh food. I stick to having three meals a day, and one of my favourite meals is chicken tikka with boiled rice and salad. We mainly did it for health reasons to feel better, and be fit and healthy for the children. I used to feel constantly tired after eating the food we used to have, but now I’m a lot brighter in a morning.”
Marie, who is mum to Callum, 20, and Cayden, 12, used to avoid family trips to Alton Towers as she feared not being able to fit on the rides.
But after their weight loss, the couple hope to take Cayden to the Staffordshire theme park next year.
Marie said: “Cayden has always wanted to go to Alton Towers, but one of my biggest fears was that I wouldn’t fit on the rides.
“We’ve always put it off and said ‘maybe next year’, but now we’ve got no excuse and we’ll look to go when everything is back to normal.”