A COUPLE from Flixton are seeing less of each other – having lost 9st 0.5lbs between them.

Richard and Angela Stanton slimmed down with the help of their local Slimming World group and became one of just 23 couples from across the UK and Ireland to reach the finals of the organisation’s Couple of the Year 2015 competition.

They believe the secret of their success was getting support from one another at home as well as each week at their Slimming World group in Flixton.

Richard, 53, who lost 4st 12lbs, said: “Doing this together has made a big difference because we understood how the other person was feeling and didn’t ever feel like we were alone on our weight-loss journey.

“We enjoy cooking together and eat all the same healthy meals too. Instead of relying on convenience foods, we cook from scratch and it tastes so much better than using packets and jars.

Richard and Angela were voted as their Slimming World group’s Couple of the Year 2015 by their fellow members.

Following their selection they were invited to represent Flixton at the national finals at Slimming World’s head office in Derbyshire.

Angela, 51, who has lost 4st 2.5lbs, said: “We feel honoured to have been chosen to represent our group and we were absolutely delighted to take part in the finals.

“If I’m honest though, the competition is really just the icing on the cake because we already feel like we’ve won the biggest prize anyway – losing weight has completely changed our lives and we’ve got a healthier future together now.

“We first decided to join Slimming World to support our daughter who wanted to lose weight.

“We were both very nervous and quite sceptical. Everyone was so friendly though and after our first week we knew we’d found something that could work for us – we couldn’t believe we’d lost weight when we’d been eating so much and never once felt hungry.

Slimming World’s Flixton group meet every Monday at Flixton Conservative Club at 7pm.

Call group leader Lisa Bramley for more details on 07946713850.