Anna dances her way to slimming success
ADANCE teacher from Southport was nominated for Woman of the Year by fellow slimmers after she lost four stone and went on to complete a tough classical ballet exam.
Anna Dunnett, 47, who owns STA Dance and Performance Academy in Eastbank Street, passed the difficult Advanced 2 Royal Academy of Dance exam.
She said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have passed the exam with merit – an exam which appeared way out of reach in my 20s.
“The exam is such a high standard; one enters knowing there is high possibility of failure, especially as there are 12 fouette pirouettes en pointe. They are extremely difficult, so I’m absolutely thrilled to have passed.”
Anna first started to think about attending a Slimming World group after speaking to one of her pupil’s mums at her dance school.
Anna said: “I got speaking to Dee Wright, who’s a Slimming World consultant based in Southport and her daughter attends dance training at STA Academy.
“I was feeling a bit low and negative at the time and I felt like I’d let my weight get out of control.
“Dee explained how the group at Slimming World works and it sounded good, but at the time it wasn’t something I’d usually do as I run a dance school in Southport and TMT Performing Arts in London and I have a little boy, so the idea of taking that much time for myself felt selfish.”
Anna started attending the group on Wednesday mornings, met people and began to grow in confidence, hitting her target weight and losing 4st.
The other group members recognised the change in her and decided
to nominate her Woman of the Year.
Anna said: “I was overwhelmed and it was such a shock. Although professionally I’m confident and outgoing, personally, I found talking about myself difficult. The group meetings have definitely helped my confidence and self esteem grow on many levels.
“I don’t think people realise how much you can enjoy food on Slimming World – it’s not a diet or restrictive, its about making healthy changes.
“I’m actually eating much more now. I think preparation and organisation has been the key to my success.
“When I’m on the go I would always grab for crisps, sandwiches or sausage rolls.
“Now I have couscous or pasta prepared with chicken, ham or fish. Plenty of fruit and vegetables, veg sticks and salads prepared with homemade hummus or pâté.
“I even plan having a gin and slimline tonic as opposed to wine.”
The change has been both physical and mental.
She said: “When you’re in a dance studio, all the for mirrors can be quite intimidating, and you have no choice but to look at yourself. The changes have allowed me to train so intensely helping me to pass the exam.
“It’s given me a much more positive outlook and I’m feeling more motivated to achieve things generally than before I started my weight loss journey.
“I’m now in a position to push myself, it’s almost been like life coaching.
“That positivity and motivation is central to my teaching.”
Dee said: “It been a pleasure and an honour to support Anna on her weight loss journey.
“We’ve seen her lose 4st in weight but gain so much more in her self confidence and in being able to congratulate her fantastic achievement passing this exam.
“In our very first conversation about joining our group, I’d said to Anna that my only regret about joining Slimming World in my 40s was that I hadn’t done it sooner, and I know she feels the same.
“She never envisaged last July that she would be taking this exam at this stage in her life.”
She added: “I’m so proud of Anna and all that she has achieved and it’s no surprise that she was nominated for Woman Of The Year in our group – she’s an inspiration.”
For details of Dee’s classes, contact her 07711 566153, or follow her Facebook page – Slimming World Southport with Dee.