Southport slimmers come back together after months of virtual slimming

24th September 2020
The Fleetwood Hesketh

Slimmers in Southport are making a ‘comeback’ as their Slimming World groups reopens, with local consultants, Fiona, Liz and Viv who are excited to announce that they are now running groups across the week at the Fleetwood Hesketh, Fylde Road.  The social club is now a hub of activity for Slimming World members with groups running Tuesday PM, Wednesday AM and Saturday AM.

Viv has been running a successful group on a Saturday morning for a number of years at the Fleetwood Hesketh and Fiona will now be running the Wednesday morning group.  Liz’s group in Crossens has been unable to resume due to the centre not being able to open so has relocated the Fleetwood Hesketh.

Slimming World consultants across the country have been putting measures in place to ensure groups comply fully with government and local guidance and that their members can return safely to their much-loved Slimming World groups.

Liz says: “I’m delighted to finally be back together with my members! Our virtual groups have been a vital lifeline of support and I’m so, so proud of how my members have been there for each other through these difficult months and continued to lose weight and get more active. There’s nothing quite like the magic of our real-life groups, though, and research of our members during lockdown has shown that while our members have loved attending their virtual groups they’ve missed the motivational power and accountability of meeting in person each week.”

Viv commented that “the health and safety of members has been our top priority in planning the return of our Slimming World groups: “Members will find a few things have changed in our groups to ensure that everyone feels as safe, confident and comfortable as they possibly can. This includes appropriate social distancing, hygiene measures and shorter sessions, which we’ll be asking members to book in to before attending. What hasn’t changed is the gorgeous warm welcome, feeling of togetherness and the joy of being ‘in it together’ week on week.

“As well as looking forward to ‘that feeling’ of being back together with our existing Slimming World members, we can’t wait to welcome new members across Southport to our groups too. Obesity is a huge issue in the news at the moment with evidence showing that carrying extra weight makes it harder for the body to fight COVID-19, and the Government announcing brand-new plans to tackle obesity across the UK – which Slimming World are very proud be part of. Plus, we know many people’s routines were turned upside down by lockdown and lots of us have been feeling more worried or anxious than usual, all of which can have an impact on making healthy choices.”

Fiona, who has lost almost two stone herself despite having to take steroids for brittle asthma, says: “I want anyone who’s worrying about their weight or health – especially if they’ve put on a few extra pounds during lockdown – to know that there will be absolutely no judgement at a Slimming World group – just lots of understanding and a very warm welcome. At Slimming World losing weight isn’t about going hungry – our eating plan is extra easy, very delicious and super generous. And moving more doesn’t mean running marathons – unless you want to, of course.

“Our groups are hubs of recipe-swapping, idea-sharing and problem-solving activity. Through our weekly sessions, you’ll discover how to identify the stoppers and potential pitfalls that could send you off track – or that have maybe prevented you from reaching your weight-loss goals in the past – and learn to develop strategies to overcome them. The new healthy habits you’ll discover will soon become habits of a lifetime, and there really is no better time to start afresh when it comes to developing new lifelong healthy habits around food and activity because, as many of the members of my groups have seen, when you lose weight you’re already doing one of the very best things you can to future-proof your health.”

Slimming World groups at the Fleetwood Hesketh are available to book now.  For more information regarding times and to book your place please contact the relevant consultant:

Tuesdays PM – Liz 07973 379463

Wednesdays AM – Fiona 07599 237766

Saturdays AM – Viv 07751 848756

Due to new safety measures, all members are asked to book into a group before attending and you can discover what a real-life Slimming World group will look like with all safety measures in place here: https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/blog/discover-keeping-you-safe/