SLIMMERS were excited to meet TV personality and presenter Rylan Clark-Neal, to celebrate 50 years of their weight loss organisation.

Rylan, who shot to fame after appearing on hit show The X-Factor, co-hosted the annual Slimming World Awards with the organisation’s founder and chair Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE.

The team, who run Slimming World groups in the Cotswolds, were pleased to get a chance to meet Rylan. Mandy Widdows from Cotswolds Slimming World said: “I couldn’t be more proud of our members. Not only have they lost fantastic amounts of weight throughout 2018 – with many of them hitting their target weights – they’ve also improved their health, boosted their confidence and are heading into 2019 with new healthy habits that will stay with them for life.

“Watching people change before my eyes and start being able to do things that they didn’t think were possible before losing weight absolutely amazes me. Every week I feel privileged to play even a small part in people’s achievements and to celebrate with them, so I felt especially honoured to represent our Slimming World groups at the Slimming World Awards. Rylan was blown away by the difference Slimming World makes to people’s lives too."

Rylan, who has appeared on This Morning and Channel 5’s Big Brother’s Little Brother, said: “I met so many people who had lost incredible amounts of weight and made a huge difference to their lives. While the stories I heard were obviously very personal, the one thing they all had in common was how much support they received from their ‘Slimming World family’ and how so many of them were achieving their dreams.

Every one of them spoke passionately about how they couldn’t have made those changes to eat more healthily and become more active without the support of their consultant and group every week. It’s clear that the people who run the groups each week are worth their weight in gold.”