A local Slimming World couple who have turned their lives around by losing an amazing 10 stone between them and have claimed a top slimming award.
Slimming World celebrated Steven and Jane Matthew’s achievements as part of the ‘Couple of the Year 2023’ competition. Steven and Jane, who joined their local Slimming World group in 2021, believe supporting one another on their weight-loss journeys has been key to their success.
“When we first joined Slimming World, we couldn’t believe how much food we could eat and still lose weight. Making small changes to the way we cooked our meals meant we could still enjoy all of our favourites like vindaloo curry and pasta carbonara and they taste so much better. We never have to miss out and don’t have to worry about weighing and measuring everything we eat or counting calories.
“Before we started we worried eating healthily might limit us but we try more new recipes now than we ever did before and have found Food Optimising fits around our lives, rather than the other way around. As we’ve lost weight, we’ve enjoyed being more active as well, which means we do more together like doing the local park run and kayaking,” Jane, who is just half a pound away from her five stone award, said.
“We’re lucky because as well as the support we had from each other, the rest of the group have also been there for us. We look forward to seeing everyone from our group each week, we swap recipes and strategies for staying on track, if we’ve ever struggled there has always been someone ready to suggest a new idea or remind us why we started this journey. It’s listening to others and talking about our own motivations and challenges that has, week by week, helped us to understand ourselves as slimmers better so we can make changes that we’re confident we can keep up for life,” Steven, who is five stone lighter since joining Slimming World, added.
Pauline Bliss who hosts the Slimming World group in St Kieran’s Community Centre stated that Steven and Jane are living proof that slimmers are more successful when they lose weight together and get support and motivation from others.
“The last few years have been incredibly difficult for so many of us with lockdown and coming back out of it, but Steven and Jane’s determination to reach their goals has never faded during all this time. They’re always the first ones to offer support and encouragement to others in the group too – they’re a real inspiration and the group and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Pauline remarked.
Sinead Morris, who hosts the Slimming World group in The Shamrock Lodge Hotel hopes that Steven and Jane’s weight loss can inspire people to get started on their own journey.
“There’s a whole group of people waiting to support you on every step of your weight loss journey and with absolutely no judgement. I feel the support from your partner, family and group is an integral part of being really successful and I have witnessed this throughout all of my groups,” Sinead commented.
You can pick up a free copy of the Slimming World 28 day recipe booklet when you join your local group until the April 15. There will also be free membership offers during April, so ensure you contact your local consultant for details.
Easter Recipe - Choc ‘n’ Date Brownies
Serves - 4
Ready - 50 minutes, plus cooling
Ingredients
2 large brown-skinned sweet potatoes (about 500g ), peeled and diced
100g porridge oats
3 level tbsp sweetener
1 medium egg
12 dried medjool dates, stoned and roughly chopped
2 level tbsp low-fat spread
6 level tbsp cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder, available in larger supermarkets )
16 raspberries
½ level tsp icing sugar, to dust
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 and line the base and sides of an 18cm square loose-bottomed cake tin with non-stick baking paper.
Steam the sweet potatoes for 10 minutes or until tender (use a steamer or put them in a covered colander placed over a saucepan of boiling water and steam over a high heat ) and leave to cool slightly.
Put the oats into a food processor and blitz until you have fine crumbs.
Add the sweetener, egg, dates, spread, cocoa powder, sweet potatoes and a pinch of salt, and whizz to a thick, smooth paste.
Pour into the prepared tin, level the surface and carefully poke in the raspberries (placing them so that each brownie will get one raspberry ).
Bake for 35 minutes then leave to cool in the tin.
Turn out on to a board then peel away and discard the baking paper.
Cut into 16 squares and dust with icing sugar to serve.
