A Lanarkshire man has been named the 'biggest loser' after shedding an incredible 19 stone in three short years.
Paul Walker, from Carluke, joined his local Slimming World in 2019 after years of feeling ashamed of his body.
Since then he has lost so much weight he won a 'biggest loser' award, and credits the group and his consultant for changing his life for the better, reports Lanarkshire Live.
And despite losing so much weight now, he said he still remembers how hard it was for him to take the first few steps.
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Paul told Lanarkshire Live: “Making that commitment to join the group and start my weight loss journey was a huge step for me – the group gave me the confidence and the push I needed.
“Since then I’ve made so many friends at the group and I honestly don’t think I could have done it without their support each week.
“Walking through those doors was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was embarrassed about my size and scared that I might be the biggest person there.
“I needn’t have worried though, everyone there was so friendly, especially my consultant, Angela Harris. I was so relieved when I found out that my weight was confidential – I’d had visions of having to tell everyone how much I weighed.
“They helped me with recipes and tips and if I was ever struggling they were always there to remind me why I’d wanted to lose weight in the first place and how far I’d come since first stepping through the doors.”
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Paul was worried that he would go off track from his new healthy routine he had curated with help of his group.
He was scared the upheaval would trigger the bad habits that led to his weight gain in the years previous.
“It was an awful feeling” Paul added.
"My confidence took a knock. I had felt so strong in the new, healthy routine I’d created – a routine that would now have to adapt and change”
Despite his worries, he continued with virtual groups and continued to shift the weight. Paul’s weight loss continued and in 2021, having shed 16 stone, he received an award from the company as one of their greatest losers that year.
Since then, Paul has continued to fight the fat and has lost a further three stone - that's an incredible 19 stone in total.
He added: “Nothing fazes me anymore.
"I know that I can achieve anything I set my mind to and, more importantly, that I have an army of cheerleaders to be right by my side when I need them.”
