This is the 10th year that a Slimming World team will be taking on the 26.2 mile challenge in the Flora London Marathon next weekend (26th April) to raise money for SMILES – SMILES stands for SLIMMERS MAKING IT a LITTLE EASIER for SOMEONE. During 2009 all Slimming World’s fundraising efforts will go to raising money for the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal. Every single penny we raise will go towards helping the charity transform Childline and the NSPCC Helpline to answer many more calls for help.

Slimming World’s marathon team are: Kathryn Briggs and Paul Siddall from Head Office, Consultant Jo Gregory from Derbyshire, and members Lindsey Bellis from North Wales, Tracey Paveley (see photo below) from London, Iain Bullock from Somerset.

Anyone who’d like to pledge to the marathon team’s fundraising can do so via www.justgiving.com/paulsiddall

There are some fantastic things happening all around the country on Saturday 21st February to mark the launch of Slimming World’s Let’s Beat it Together campaign that will bring teams in the field and members together to shout the message to the world that Slimming World is the best solution to obesity. We thought you may want to join in the fun and take part in some of the activities around and about our home patch, so here’s a flavour of what’s planned

Bristol/Wiltshire 

• Eight consultants manning a stand in Willow Brook Shopping Centre, Bristol, all day Saturday
• Convoy of cars through Bristol and Bath with banners and balloons, 12 Consultants taking part.
• Walking party from venues in South Bristol to Cabot Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol City Centre with placards, wearing red ponchos etc.
• In Swindon supermarket promotions and a 40 for tea event in local garden centre.

Central

• Wolverhampton – Car convoy around venues with cars decorated, at each venue people dressed in ponchos and carrying placards will be getting out to march the streets
• Rally in Churchdown, Gloucester
• March through Telford visiting every retail park and supermarkets
• Stall in Leominster Market on Friday and march through High Town to Low Town on Saturday
• In the Forest of Dean the team is marching through all the main towns in the morning and meeting in Ross in the afternoon

Cheshire/Wirral/North Wales

• 24ft float driving around the Wirral. A DJ and chef from local radio station Seven Waves are also on board.

Derby/Notts

• Walk/march from Matlock to Darley Dale. Decorating bandstand at Matlock Park and Whitworth Centre, where there will be a raffle and displays
• Walk/march around Derby City Centre and then meeting at The Spot

Dorset

• Trolley dash from town to town around part of the district, from Blandford passing through Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Gillingham, Wincanton and Mere
• Promotion at the Dolphin Centre, Poole. Activities include competitions with prizes including healthy food hampers and a meal at a restaurant in Bournemouth called Ruby

East Anglia

• Market stall at Ipswich Buttermarket
• Stall and charity weight-in for the NSPCC at Stowmarket market
• Red double decker bus around Bury, Sudbury and Newmarket ending at Bury Cornhill in procession with Mayor
• Bike rally in Cambridge
• Charity cycle ride in Lowestoft
• Marches in March and Huntingdon
• 100 balloons being released

Essex

• Look out for our procession around Essex, with Dalek with a poster saying “Let’s Exterminate Obesity”

Hampshire/Isle of Wight

• Car convoys around the towns eg Southampton, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight. Cars decorated and everyone taking part dressed up in red ponchos, with placards etc.

Kent

• Car convoy travelling from one end of district to the other
• Marching in the streets
• Supermarket promotions

Lancashire

• Stall at Ramsbottom market
• Promotion at a fruit and veg stalls in Littleborough, Barrow in Furness and Dalton in Furness
• Coffee morning in Kendal
• Driving A-frame truck around Whitehaven and Workington
• Stall in Blackburn town centre and walking around town
• Stand by ice rink in Darwen, all members going dressed in red so they’ll be turning the ice rink red!

Leicester/Lincs/North Hants

• Around 80 people walking through streets and handing out leaflets dressed in red ponchos and cowboy hats, also at Fosse Park which is a big shopping centre in Leicester arriving in Slimming World decorated cars.
• Wedding fayre in Spalding
• March through streets in Spalding, members have paid to sponsor a heart
• In Corby, bandstand and town cryer.

Manchester

• Cook In in Cheadle with chef Diane Marsden cooking for members and friends
• Car convoy travelling around the area decorated with banners etc from Sale to Old Trafford to Stretford to Salford to Manchester City Centre, posters, placards and leaflets everywhere, people dressing up in posters and banners too
• Shop fronts decorated in Stockport
• Supermarket promotions

Merseyside

• Walk around Liverpool wearing ponchos
• Tasters at butchers that does Syn-free sausages and visiting a sausage factory
• Supermarket promotions around the district

Midlands

• Come and say hello at the Merry Hill Centre, Dudley

Northern Ireland

• Offering free BMI and Blood Pressure checks at the Tower Centre, Ballymena, as well as giving away balloons and goody bags to the first 250 visitors.

North London

• Teams walking between their group venues in Enfield, Whetstone, Finchley, Chingford, Walthamstow
• Stands in supermarkets and at car boot sales in Ilford and North London.
• Promotional event in Greenford High Street
• Market road show in East London.

Scotland East

• Walking around Strathclyde Park with ponchos and carrying balloons, Lord Provost of North Lanarkshire Tom Curley, who’s also a local councillor, is launching the walk with a balloon release

South West Scotland

• East Kilbride gazebo in town centre and holding fun day
• Two sponsored marches through the streets with people welcome to join as they go.

South Yorkshire

• Family fun day at Concorde Sports Centre in Sheffield
• Stall in Rotherham City Centre. Everyone dressed in red, offering free BMI checks, giving away balloons, and tables of Free Food
• Stand in Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre in Sheffield offering free BMI checks and info on losing 10% weight etc Also have food displays, balloons and leaflets
• Open-top bus travelling around Chesterfield which will then park up at the bus depot near the crooked spire and offer free BMI checks to passers-by.

This isn't an exhaustive list of activities, so you may well bump into some of our members and Consultants in your town too!  Come and say hello, find out more and join in our campaign - Let's beat obesity together!

Many of today’s papers claim that the Australians are unexpectedly leading the way as the heavyweight champions of the world – with arguably a greater proportion of obese citizens than even the notoriously supersized Americans. A study released yesterday shows that Australia’s obesity epidemic has been considerably underestimated, with nine million adults – almost 60 per cent of the adult population – overweight.

And, although Slimming World groups haven’t made the journey to Oz yet, our international online membership – bodyOPTIMISE – has!  So if you have friends or family in Australia, or if you live in Australia and would love to eat big portions of delicious food, experience unique weekly slimming support and have unlimited online access to recipes, features and a huge array of motivational tools, join bodyOPTIMISE today and start your journey to weight loss success!

Once a female-only market, slimming clubs have been steadily gate-crashed over the years by member’s husbands, boyfriends and sons, who have proven that they are indeed better slimmers.  Data from our Slimming World on Referral* scheme shows that men’s weight loss is on average 23% greater than women during the 12 week referral period!

Dr Jacquie Lavin, Slimming World Nutritionist said, “Men tend to have a more muscle mass than women do and, as muscle uses up energy, it means that men often lose weight a little faster than women. Men often see very good weight losses in the first few weeks, which motivates them to carry on and they often reach targets quicker than women.

“Men also tend to be focused when they start on a healthy eating plan especially when they joining a slimming club that’s full of women. And they tend to feel less social pressure than women feel and have fewer negative feelings about previous diets they may have tried.”

Success is made easy for male dieters at Slimming World.  We understand that curry, chips and beer are the things men hate giving up most – and the good news is that with Slimming World they don’t have to.

46 year old consultant Chris Nicholls, who runs a 44-strong male class in Mid-Glamorgan, believes some of his members could definitely give any female dieter a run for their money.

“Since I started running the class 21 months ago, the total weight loss of my members so far has been an amazing 334 stone. Our members range from 24 – 60 years of age, and are lorry drivers, office workers, builders or are retired. I lost 10 stone myself with Slimming World, before becoming a Consultant to help others.

“Life can get quite competitive with my members and their wives and girlfriends, some of whom also attend other Slimming World groups. Male slimmers have fantastic motivation, and are able to channel their energy to achieving their weight loss goal.

Many people contact us to ask if Food Optimising will fit in with their diabetes – the answer is a resounding YES!  Not only will it fit around the condition – many members tell us that it has helped control it.

Many of our members with diabetes have found their blood glucose levels and general health have improved significantly since Food Optimising and a number also report that they require less medication now they have lost weight. 

“Fourteen months ago I was told by my doctor that I would soon be injecting insulin if I didn't change my eating and drinking habits. Thanks to Food Optimising I now take no medication at all!” From John Ritchie  

A national survey by Slimming World, with more than 5,000 responses from men and women, found that just one month of healthy eating and exercise can lead to dramatic improvements in symptoms and significantly reduce the need for medication.

• 67% of members with diabetes reported an improvement since joining Slimming World
• 4% have been able to stop medication for diabetes, controlling it with diet alone
• 9% have been Slimming World members for just one month. Of these 64% reported an improvement in diabetes. Average weight loss was 8lbs
• 42% have seen an improvement in other health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and mobility difficulties
• 70% are more active since joining Slimming World

www.slimmingworld.com/healthy_eating/motivation_diabetes_week.asp

As with all medical conditions, it is important to follow the medical and dietary advice given by your health care team.

On Wednesday 4th June, Slimming World was delighted to sponsor a reception in the Scottish Parliament to mark the formation of Scotland’s first Cross Party Group to tackle obesity.

The event was a resounding success: in fact, one of the best attended receptions ever held in the spectacular new parliament building, reflecting the fact that obesity is one of the hottest topics in Scotland right now.

Attendees included around 20 Scottish MPs and the Minister for Public Health Shona Robison (pictured above with Slimming World's MD, Caryl Richards), who said that the Scottish Government recognises that obesity is an increasing problem that poses a huge threat to health. An influential audience included some key figures from the NHS in Scotland, as well as employers, academics and journalists.

The speakers included former rugby international John Beattie, the minister Shona Robison, MSP Mary Scanlon, Dr Laura Stewart from the Children’s Weight Clinic and Caryl Richards, who talked about Slimming World’s unique approach to weight loss, the help that we give to slimmers every week around the UK, and the huge success of Slimming World on Referral in England, generating a lot of interest from the audience in getting the scheme up and running in Scotland too.

Successful slimmers, Consultants and managers from around Scotland came to the event too. Rita Gallogley, a Woman of the Year 2006 finalist who lost 11 stone attended with her son, 16 year old Sean, both members of Ray Mackle’s Chapelhall group, and they were a huge hit with the politicians and health professionals they met.

Scotland has one of the world’s worst obesity rates, second only to the USA. The reception was an important step in raising awareness of what Slimming World can do for slimmers in Scotland – at a time when government is looking for new ways to help the 1.5 million people in Scotland who are overweight or obese - and the first step will be the formation of a Slimming World group within the Scottish Parliament building itself, as a direct result of the reception.

Every year after Christmas, Slimming World members all over the UK take part in a 6-week Slimathon in aid of our charity SMILES (Slimmers Making It a Little Easier for Someone) which, this year, is supporting the NSPCC.  And we're delighted to announce that 2008's results have now been finalised and 2008's grand total is £42,000! An enormous thank you and congratulations to all 400 fabulous slimmers who took part and lost an incredible 232 stones between them for this incredibly worthwhile cause.

This year's shining Slimathon star is Jan from West Sussex.  Jan has lost an awesome 1st 4lbs, raising £1,000 in the process, and wins two tickets to the glittering Slimming World Awards ceremony in November.

For more information about SMILES, visit www.slimmingworld.com/smiles.asp.

A wet summer might be good for the garden – but not for your waistline! As climate experts predict above-average rainfall this summer (not again!), a new Slimming World survey reveals that almost 80% of slimmers dread a rainy holiday season more than a sunny one. That’s because staying indoors means there’s more temptation to eat and less chance to get active!  

Even with a bit of sunshine, slimmers still see summer as a high risk season:

• 52% say that going on holiday is the most challenging time
• 33% think eating outdoors at restaurants and cafés with tempting dishes is difficult
• 25% believe BBQs are the main culprit for weight gain

Come rain (boo!) or shine (hooray!), Slimming World groups are the sizzling place to be this summer, with plenty of practical, realistic, everyday solutions for the season – whatever the weather.  So whether your summer features theme parks, barbecues, weeks abroad, family days out (or in) or the occasional motorway service station stop, you’ll find ideas galore to make your summer slimmer!

Click here to find your nearest warm and friendly group today and fill your summer with sunshine and support: http://www.slimmingworld.com/join/join_a_group.asp

When Elaine Gammond, a manager at the Elliman Resource Centre in Slough, Berkshire heard about Slimming World’s referral programme she approached her local Berkshire East Primary Care Trust (PCT) to fund a trial service for people with learning difficulties at the centre.

The PCT already had a Slimming World on Referral programme in place, so they agreed to the extension of the programme. A new Slimming World group was set up in-house at the resource centre specifically for members with special needs who could be referred by their GP. A Slimming World Consultant ran the group with support from the PCT’s learning difficulties care staff. Members, ranging in age from 20-60 attended the group with their carers for 24 weeks.

Slimming World prepared visual aids such as laminated pictures of low energy dense foods (Slimming World’s Free Foods) and packaging to present Food Optimising, Slimming World’s unique, balanced, healthy eating plan. Members were encouraged to eat plenty of Free Foods and to choose healthier meal options. They also took part in Slimming World’s Body Magic programme which encourages small steps to regular activity. The centre arranged activities such as group walks and keep-fit classes which the members embraced enthusiastically. They also started a local beginners’ dancing class and held a Special Olympics day. Average attendance was 19 weeks, weight change was -4.2kg and 55% achieved a 5% weight loss within the 24 weeks.

“Slimming World welcomes members with learning difficulties or special needs accompanied by their carers at our groups,” says Sue Gibson, Business Development Manager (Public Health). “We have produced weight management support literature in Braille and larger print as well as an audio version for the visually impaired and other patient groups.”