Twin-credible: ‘We lost 18st together!’
Sisters Shannon and Olivia Wilson, 26, ditched takeaways for healthy eating and joint daily workouts
Growing up, my twin sister Olivia and I did everything together. We were in the same class at school and had the same group of friends. When we started getting pocket money at ten years old, our favourite thing to do was to go to the shop and spend it all on treats. After school, we’d always stop at the corner shop to buy sweets, biscuits and chocolate. I used to stuff it all in my bag, so I could get it past our mum Debbie when we got home. By the time, Olivia and I were in our late teens, we were a size 16-18. It didn’t bother me that we were bigger than our friends, but Olivia, who loves fashion, would often get frustrated.
Over the next few years, I moved out of the family home, and Olivia and I both joined Slimming World together a few times. It worked well for us, but sooner or later, we’d stray offplan and return to our old eating habits – living on Mcdonald’s breakfasts, Greggs or Subway sandwiches for lunch, and takeaway pizzas in the evenings. Looking back, I don’t think either of us were motivated enough to make a huge change.
Then, in March 2018, Olivia, then 23, was diagnosed with the condition spinal stenosis – a narrowing of the spinal canal, which caused chronic pain in her back and legs. It was a really tough time for her, and while she’d get through the week at her finance manager job, she’d be virtually bed-bound at weekends. Fed up and in agony, Olivia found herself comfort eating, which took her up to a size 26 – and that made her back condition even worse. In July 2019, she finally had an operation to relieve the pressure on her spine, but it wasn’t a complete cure, and she realised she’d experience far less complications if she lost weight.
“I’m going back to Slimming World,” Olivia told me. In the August, she rejoined our local group in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, and although I was happy for her and tempted to rejoin myself,
I still didn’t feel motivated enough.
Then, in March 2020, I saw a photo of myself taken on a day out to Leeds with colleagues at my customer support job. I was shocked at how much bigger I was than everyone else. For years, I’d been avoiding having pictures taken where I couldn’t control the angle, but now, as a size 24, I had to face up to the denial I’d been living in. “I’m joining you at Slimming World,” I told Olivia when I next saw her. By now, she’d dropped five dress sizes to a size 16 in just seven months. She was doing brilliantly. Her spine condition had drastically improved, and to see the difference in her physical and mental wellbeing was so inspiring.
I rejoined, but due to lockdown, I didn’t start attending the online groups until May. That’s when I finally got into the zone, swapping grab-andgo junk food and greasy pizza takeaways for Slimming World-friendly curries and pasta dishes. It was great to swap recipes with Olivia, who was also doing workouts in her garden. She was following routines on Youtube and Instagram, and when the restrictions started to lift, I’d go and join her every
‘I’ve grown as a person’
morning before work.
When I split up with my boyfriend in June, I moved in with Olivia and we started meal planning and cooking together.
We enjoyed turning all our old favourite treats into healthy versions, such as healthy pizza bagels, pasta bakes with fresh ingredients, and having smaller portions. We would eat Greek yoghurt with fruit for breakfast, and for lunch, I’d have a chicken salad and Olivia would make herself a homemade soup. Doing it together was so much easier than if I were doing it on my own, and by February this year, I had lost a total of 8st 9lbs in a year, while Olivia had lost 9st 10lbs. At 6ft 1in, I’m an inch taller than Olivia and now wear a size 14. Olivia is thrilled that she can now wear the clothes she loves in a 12 – something she used to dream about. We still do our daily workouts together, but we think that it’s important not to pressure ourselves too much because we want to continue enjoying what we’re doing – and so far, it’s working! We no longer stress about what the scales say, we judge how our clothes fit and how we feel in ourselves – and we both feel amazing! I wouldn’t have got where I am without Olivia.
OLIVIA SAYS,
“After the surgery, something just clicked inside me. I told myself that I had been given the chance to regain control of myself and my life. When Shannon rejoined Slimming World with me, I was so proud of her, and we’ve worked together as a team to get to where we are now. I feel that I’ve grown as a person and I have finally learnt how to believe in and love myself. And it’s amazing to see the positive changes in Shannon, too. Our ultimate goal was to be happier and healthier, and we have definitely achieved that!
“People are shocked when they see us and say we look amazing – and we feel it. We are so proud of ourselves and how we have helped motivate and inspire each other.”