New slim look suits golfer down to a tee
EMBARRASSED about being too fat for his shorts Peter Sweeney decided he had to change.
Not liking what he saw in the mirror and cringing when his grandson said he had a too flabby belly to be his superhero, Peter knew he had to go healthy.
And, after joining Slimming World via Zoom, the 59-year-old is proud to be a successful lockdown super slimmer.
In just over four months Peter has now shed more than three stone and he’s determined to lose more.
And he’s now ditched his size 40-inch waist shorts and is proud to be able to slip comfortably into a size 34.
“In March I was on a golf trip in Spain and put on my golf shorts for the first time in a few months and I couldn’t get the 40 inch waistband buttoned up,” said Peter, of Newbiggin-bythe-sea,northumberland.
“I had to wear them, and other pairs, over the next week with the button undone and the belt buckle hiding it. Bending down to pick my golf ball up was a chore. I felt fat and embarrassed.
“There and then I promised myself, for the umpteenth time, I would go on a diet when I returned home. I came home on March 12 and went to a Slimming World class on March 14. And those 40-inch waistband shorts are history.
“In addition to the golf trip, my five-year-old grandson Oliver had told me on a few occasions that I was too fat to be a superhero. My claim to fame was calling myself ‘Super Grandad’ so I knew I had to get myself sorted.
“I felt fat, breathless and sweaty, as I was also unfit. There was a time when I could breath in and hide my belly. But by late 2019 even breathing in didn’t hide it. My belly had got too big for that.
“I saw my reflection in the mirror and told myself that wasn’t me – but it was. I didn’t like the image of myself that me, and everyone else, was seeing.”
Peter would gorge on cheese, crisps, chocolate bars, biscuits, bread, but now he’s swapped all that with lots of fruit, vegetables and tasty low-fat alternatives. He’s dropped from 16st 1lb to 12st 13.5lb – and he’s chuffed to bits.
Dad-of-two Peter added: “The last time I could get into a 34-inch waste was at the age of 28, that was 31 years ago.
“There have been so many positives but at the top is I’ve got my best gross golf score down to 81 from 100, and for the first time in 30 years I can run six miles in 60 minutes. I can also do 250 squats, 125 press-ups, 150 crunches and a five-minute plank in one session.
“It feels awesome to be fit again. And it feels good to see a much slimmer me in the mirror every morning. It seems a bit corny, but when I see the new slimmer me I feel proud. And I like my reflection again. Sometimes I even walk backwards to then have to pass the mirror again – I say it’s pride not vanity!”
Retired civil servant Peter joined a Slimming World class hosted by consultant Wendy Thompson, who runs classes in Newbiggin-bythe-sea on Tuesdays at 5.30pm and 7.30pm, and on Saturdays at 9.30 am. For more information call Wendy on 0750 821 8064.
During lockdown, Slimming World turned to holding virtual classes via Zoom. It plans to resume some classes by week commencing August 10 and others on a phased return opening by the beginning of September.
To find your Slimming World group near you call Lorna Daniels, district manager for Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, on 0738 411 9370 or Sue Thompson, district manager for Wearside and Durham, on 0755 702 8637.