Burnley woman loses more than six stone to land in semi-finals of Slimming World competition

Georgina Beveridge (49) was voted to represent her Burnley group in the Slimming World’s Woman of the Year 2022 contest after shedding a life-changing 6st 7.5lbs.

Georgina was one of 37 women in the UK and Ireland in the running for the overall title after dropping from 17st 6lbs to 10st 12.5lbs.

She said: “Before I joined Slimming World, losing weight just felt like an uphill struggle. I felt self-conscious all the time and would get out of breath doing the most simple things and, although I was desperate to do something about it, I had almost resigned myself to the fact that I would always be overweight and unhappy.

"The group really made me feel welcome from the very first day I joined. Ultimately, when I was at my lowest ebb it was a place I felt safe, included and free to be myself. My Consultant Sophie has been amazing and really helped me to believe in myself and stay motivated, too.

“At the start of my journey, if you’d have told me I would be representing my group at the finals of Slimming World’s Woman of the Year competition, feeling the way I do, I would have laughed. I still can’t believe this is my reality. My partner and I were due to get married this year, but everything was delayed because of the pandemic. Now that I’m over 6st lighter I’m looking forward to wedding dress shopping more than ever. I’m looking ahead to a brighter, happier and heathier future and ready to seize life with both hands.”

“The best thing is that I feel confident that I’ve formed new healthy habits that will stick with me, like filling my plate with plenty of veg and cooking without lots of added oils and fats. These new habits have enabled me to finally take control of my weight and find the confidence I’ve been lacking all these years – it doesn’t feel like an uphill struggle anymore.

“With my new-found confidence I started thinking about ways I could become more active and have taken up bootcamp classes at my local gym and a weekly 5k Parkrun.”