It definitely wasn’t a case of ‘no likey, no lighty’ when a Slimming World Consultant from Bilton met comedian and TV presenter Paddy McGuinness at an annual awards ceremony.
Lizzie Nixon, who runs a Slimming World group at Bilton Youth Centre in Harrogate and St. Roberts Parish Centre, Harrogate every Tuesday, was delighted to get a chance to cuddle up to Paddy when he co-hosted the Slimming World Awards with the organisation’s chair and founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE.
Bolton-born Paddy, who shot to fame in Channel 4 comedy Phoenix Nights alongside school friend Peter Kay before becoming a popular stand-up comedian and TV presenter on shows including ITV1’s Take Me Out, said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Paddy added: I have to admit the most I knew about Slimming World before the awards was a gag in Peter’s routine that refers to Slimming World as being a £1 cheaper than its competitors! Jokes aside, I was genuinely amazed to hear about what a difference Consultants like Lizzie make to people’s lives. At the ceremony I met lots of people who’d lost incredible amounts of weight and it had totally changed their lives. Every single one of them told me that they couldn’t have done it without the support of their Slimming World group and their Consultant.
Before I started working in comedy I was a fitness instructor so I know how important it is to look after yourself, but equally I know it’s not always easy to motivate yourself. So, having the help and support of someone like Lizzie to keep you on track and be there with advice when you need it really is invaluable.
Lizzie said meeting Paddy at the event, which was held at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, was the cherry on the top of a great year for the Bilton Slimming World group: Obviously the most important thing of all is that the group have lost weight and improved their health throughout 2013 and I’m so proud of all of my members – many of them have achieved their target weights and been able do things they never thought possible before slimming down, including doing more with their families, taking up new hobbies, reducing medication or simply fitting in smaller-sized clothes. And they’re helping their entire family to eat more healthily too.
But as well as seeing stonking success on the scales, we’ve had a lot of fun throughout the year too – we’ve held parties in group, raised money for charity and members have cheered each other on with every step of their weight loss journey.
I can’t wait to see what 2014 holds for the Bilton Slimming World group and I’d love anyone who’s thinking about losing weight this January to join us.
