Just a few years ago, Lesley Hutchinson was worried her partner Chris Coulter would die in his sleep because of severe breathing problems brought on by his excess weight.
Now the couple, from Newcastle upon Tyne, have shed nearly 22 stone between them – with Chris losing more than half his body weight – and have compiled a 'slim list' of things they plan to do to celebrate their amazing achievement.
Tipping the scales at 29st 5lbs Chris, 51, suffered with sleep apnoea, which regularly saw him stop breathing in his sleep, and 55-year-old Lesley feared one day he might not wake up.
And Lesley weighed 15st 4.5lbs and wore a dress size 22. Since joining Slimming World and losing a combined weight of 21st 11lbs, the pair have been named as the organisation's Couple of the Year 2015.
Chris and Lesley, who have been together for 25 years, began to have weight problems around 15 years ago.
Chris said: 'We stopped smoking and replaced cigarettes with snacks like crisps, sandwiches and pies. Around the same time we got a second car so didn't need to walk places anymore.
'Then when the kids – I have two daughters and Lesley has one daughter from previous relationships – left home we fell into the habit of eating more takeaways and washing them down with a bottle of wine.'
However things changed when, in summer 2010, Chris was left mortified after a wooden chair collapsed beneath him at a family barbecue.
The garden furniture broke into pieces and cut into Chris' leg, which became infected with cellulitis and worsened and ulcerated because of his weight.
Soon after, Chris suffered further embarrassment when he was unable to fit into a hotel shower and the couple had to request a new room.
So when his doctor, who was a Slimming World member herself, recommended Chris join his local group in May 2011, he decided losing weight was his only option.
Chris said: 'My leg was in a real mess and it was getting to the point where they didn't know what else to do, I started to worry that I might actually lose my leg.
'I knew I had to do something about my weight. I was embarrassed and worried because I thought I'd be the only man in a roomful of women, so Lesley agreed to come with me.
The pair began following Slimming World's Food Optimising programme and swapped their regular takeaways for healthy home-cooked meals, including their favourite Friday night dinner of homemade cheese burgers and Slimming World-style chips (baked in the oven).
In his first week Chris lost 8.5lbs and since then he has gone on to lose a total of 17st 2lbs, going from 29st 5lbs to 12st 3lbs, and dropped 32 inches from his waist.
His health problems are gone and he's discovered a passion for healthy eating: 'Our tastes have changed completely since we started slimming.
'We don't even want the foods we used to enjoy because the meals that we make at home are so much nicer. (Dailymail)
Chris said: 'My leg was in a real mess and it was getting to the point where they didn't know what else to do, I started to worry that I might actually lose my leg.
'I knew I had to do something about my weight. I was embarrassed and worried because I thought I'd be the only man in a roomful of women, so Lesley agreed to come with me.
The pair began following Slimming World's Food Optimising programme and swapped their regular takeaways for healthy home-cooked meals, including their favourite Friday night dinner of homemade cheese burgers and Slimming World-style chips (baked in the oven).
In his first week Chris lost 8.5lbs and since then he has gone on to lose a total of 17st 2lbs, going from 29st 5lbs to 12st 3lbs, and dropped 32 inches from his waist.
His health problems are gone and he's discovered a passion for healthy eating: 'Our tastes have changed completely since we started slimming.
'We don't even want the foods we used to enjoy because the meals that we make at home are so much nicer. (Dailymail)
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