MANY people have been piling on the pounds during lockdown, but a trio of dieters in Halstead are celebrating after shedding a whopping 15st between them.

The super slimmers have managed to stay strong and stick to their plans despite being cooped up at home.

They have been Slimming World members for years and have now lost more than 15st between them.

Sam Watts, 39, joined the group five years ago.

After losing 5st 11lbs she has now become the group’s Halstead consultant.

She admits they have been forced to adapt because of the lockdown.

Sam had been made redundant from her previous job in December 2019.

Then she was asked if she would like to become a Slimming World consultant at her group.

“I jumped at the chance as I thought that if one lady had changed my life for good then I wanted to do that for other people,” said Sam.

“In early March I attended my training and came away ready and waiting to relaunch my group on April 15.

“I was so excited to go and meet all my members and help them with their weight loss.

“I returned from training on Saturday full of excitement and raring to go. Then the following Tuesday, due to Covid-19, we were advised that all groups were to close to protect members and consultants.

“My world was thrown in to turmoil as I didn’t know what was going to happen and how long we would have to be shut for.

“However, the amazing team at Slimming World made it possible for us to re-open our groups in the virtual world in just two weeks, allowing us to continue to support our members.

“So excitement reigned again and although I couldn’t relaunch as planned, we have done it in the virtual world.

“I am so happy to be supporting our members and we have had such amazing weight loss achievements in lockdown, including some of our members who have not only lost weight but have also reached their target weight.”

Victoria Love, 34, from Little Maplestead, joined the group in July 2017 and has gone on to lose 5st, becoming the first to hit her target during the lockdown.

She said: “I came to Slimming World wanting to lose weight, fed up, embarrassed to walk in and secretly thinking it’ll never work.

“What I found was a family – supportive friends, all in the same boat as me.

“I found control in my chaotic life, I found my confidence and best of all I found that I could lose weight and make a positive change in my life just with a few less cakes!”

Suzanne Owen-Westwood, 31, from Halstead, joined in June 2019 and has lost 5st 2lbs.

She said: “Losing over 5st and getting to target was such a huge achievement for me, and I feel really proud of how far I have come.”