Lancaster woman loses stones in weight despite battling MS and enduring Covid lockdowns with no slimming classes

Emma Hossack joined her local Slimming World Group in Skerton six years ago after trying to slim on her own.

She was nearly at her dream goal weight when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Going through the treatment and the distress it brought to her life and family, Emma gained four stone.

The months of Covid lockdown meant that groups weren’t able to meet in person and Emma found this really difficult.

She said: “Being part of my Slimming World Group was my safe place.

"It’s so hard to lose weight on your own. I found the support of the group, the motivation from my consultant and fellow members really kept me going, so I really missed it when we couldn’t meet up.”

Emma was photographed at a wedding and after seeing the picture she knew she had to regain control and go back to her Slimming World group.

As soon as lockdown ended, Emma returned to her group in Skerton and made a fresh start.

Slimming World consultant Louise Haskins said: “It was so lovely to see Emma come back to group.

“Emma is such an inspiration, to be going through the treatment for MS at such a young age and taking everything in her stride is quite remarkable.

"It’s testament to the group that this is the place Emma wants to be as she is fully embraced, accepted, cared for and supported.”

Emma said: “Before I joined Slimming World and learnt about their healthy eating plan, I’d follow a diet on my own at home for a bit, then I’d give up as I’d get so hungry, and I’d grab crisps or biscuits feeling like such a failure.

"I didn’t have the support of other slimmers because I was trying to lose weight on my own and it was so hard to keep motivated when I also didn’t really understand what healthy eating was.

“Now, I have the support of all my friends at group and I have learnt to plan what I’m going to eat, and I know that because I’m enjoying meals that fill me up, I’m less likely to snack, and I’m much more in control of my appetite.

"But when I do fancy something I know how to choose foods that are going to be satisfying as well as keeping my weight loss on track. It’s really a completely new way of

thinking about food”.

With the support of her group, Emma is nicely at her target weight and continues to attend her group in Skerton on a weekly basis and she is now “paying it forward” by being a support to others who are on their journey to their weight loss dream.

She finds having added more activity into her lifestyle has really helped her to maintain her target weight.

“Research shows that building activity into our lifestyle while we are losing weight helps us to maintain our weight once we reach our target weight.

"So it’s no wonder Emma has been able to successfully maintain her target weight for a whole year! ” said Louise.

Contact Louise Haskins, area Manager on 07480 139633 or find your local group here