Find out how this Lincolnshire mum dropped a whopping TEN dress sizes

It was three years ago that Charlie realised she needed to do something about her weight.

At a size 28, she felt tired and worried about her future and whether she could have a family. It was doctors telling her she would need to lose weight if she wanted to conceive naturally that finally kicked her into action.

“My husband had also proposed to me at that time, so I not only had the motivation to slim for that - but also so I could have children,” said Charlie, 33.

“Since the age of 14 my dress size had followed a pattern of matching my age - so by the time I was aged 18 I was a size 18. When I got to age 30 I thought, ‘my God, I don’t want to be a size 30’, so I joined Slimming World.”

Over the next three years Charlie dropped a staggering 10 dress sizes - going down to a size 8-10, and losing over eight stones in weight.

“My life changed. I used to have to travel to specialist clothes shops, but now I can shop anywhere,” she continued. “Last month I went on holiday and wore a bikini for the first time - it felt amazing. I’ve got a renewed love of fashion now too.”

But most importantly, Charlie says the weightloss enabled her to have her baby son, nine month-old Bobby.

“I honestly don’t think I would have been able to conceive without losing the weight,” she adds.

The new mum’s weightloss journey is now inspiring other members at a Slimming World group she runs in Sleaford. The 60 members there have lost a collective 85 stones in weight since January alone.

The members, who attend the group every week, follow Slimming World’s ‘Food Optimising’ eating plan, which encourages them to fill up on foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes, lean meat and fish, pulses and fruit and vegetables.

Member Sally Massey has lost three stone so far. She said: “The support and inspiration we get from our consultant Charlie has also been integral to our success. Because shes lost weight herself, she understands the ups and downs of slimming and can offer us help and advice based on her own experience, without her I don’t think we’d have achieved nearly as much.”

Charlie added that she was ‘delighted’ with her members’ success, adding: “It has made a big difference to their lives and to their whole families’ lives, and all of them are happier and healthier now. Slimming has never been more important. I just want to help even more people to make real changes for life – there’s no better job satisfaction than that. Having lost over eight stone myself, I know how challenging it can be.”

Charlie holds two group sessions at The Legion, in Southgate, Sleaford, every Monday at 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

For more information, or to join the group, call Charlie on 07772 745882.