Slimming World: Losing over 6 stone not only helped Andi – it helped her family too

Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Havant mum says her weight-loss journey has helped her whole family develop healthier habits. For Andi Denyer Willis, losing more than six stone has transformed not only her own health and relationship with food, but the habits of her whole family. Andi joined Slimming World in 2018 after having three children in just four years. She gained around five stone during her first pregnancy with daughter Frankie, now 11, four stone with son Ralphie, nine, and a further three stone with youngest daughter Jeorgie, eight. Andi had struggled with her weight from a very young age. Before she had even started primary school, she had tried meal-replacement shakes and later saw a dietitian after being identified as living with obesity through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). 'I struggled with my weight from such a young age,' says Andi. 'None of the things I tried really helped me learn how to eat healthier, and I just continued to gain more and more weight as the years went on – often going up a stone every year.' After having Frankie, Andi reached her heaviest weight of 19st 3lb (122kg). She tried a strict calorie-counting diet to lose the 'baby weight', but found it unsustainable. 'I lost weight, but it really wasn't teaching my daughter healthy habits. I knew I needed to find a different approach.' Since joining Slimming World, Andi has focused on making small, manageable changes that the whole family can enjoy. At home, she has swapped to lighter mayonnaise and tomato ketchup, uses Frylight instead of oil and chooses reduced-fat cheese rather than full-fat versions. The children still enjoy some of their favourite foods, including chicken nuggets and chips, but Andi says she now feels more confident making healthier choices around them. Snacks include protein-rich chicken bites, lower-calorie crisps and fruit, while the family sometimes makes their own versions of favourite meals together. 'They don't ever go without,' says Andi. 'I think it's important they learn to choose the better option for themselves.' Andi's experience reflects findings from new independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), carried out at the University of Bristol and published in BMJ Paediatrics Open. The research found that parents attending weight-management groups reported positive changes in their children's health behaviours, including healthier eating and increased physical activity. The survey of 396 Slimming World members with children aged five to 11 found that: 67 per cent of parents who were concerned about their child's weight felt more motivated to support them after addressing their own weight. 48 per cent reported healthy improvements in what their child ate after joining the weight-loss programme. 27 per cent said their child had become more physically active. Improving health and dissatisfaction with appearance were the leading motivations for weight loss among parents, each influencing more than four in five (81 per cent) respondents. Many also wanted their children to have a healthier future because of difficulties they had experienced themselves with weight and health. For Andi, the findings strongly resonate with her own family experience. 'My daughter Frankie is my double and does struggle with her weight,' she says. 'She once said to me, 'Mummy, you are so lucky you was able to lose six stone,' and I replied, 'I don't ever want you to have to lose six stone.' 'That moment really stuck with me and made me realise how important it is to embed a healthy lifestyle in them now. I want them to grow up understanding how to make healthier choices, rather than feeling that they need to go on a diet later in life.' The children are also active in their own ways. Frankie is a strong swimmer, Ralphie plays for two grassroots football teams and Jeorgie can often be found cartwheeling her way around the house. Andi says the changes have benefited her husband Matt too. She credits his support with helping the whole family embrace a healthier lifestyle, and he has lost weight alongside her. 'I was really lucky that my husband Matt embraced the changes I wanted to make,' says Andi. 'He's benefited from losing weight alongside me and, although he claims not to know how to cook, he can now make a fantastic Food Optimised roast dinner.' Andi, who is now a Slimming World Consultant in Havant and Bedhampton, says she often sees similar ripple effects among members who attend her groups. 'I'm not sure what might have happened if I hadn't joined Slimming World – not only with my own health, but with my children's too,' she says. 'As a consultant, I see the ripple effect of weight loss in families all the time. People join because they want to improve their own health, but the changes they make can naturally become part of family life too. They're cooking together, making healthier choices, being more active and finding that everyone benefits. 'For me, it's about creating healthy habits that are realistic and sustainable, rather than children feeling they have to diet. I want my children to have a positive relationship with food and activity and to feel confident making choices for themselves.' One of the lead researchers from the University of Bristol, Professor in Diabetes and Metabolic Endocrinology Julian Hamilton-Shield, says the research highlights the potential benefits of putting families at the heart of adult weight management. 'This research strengthens the case for putting families at the heart of adult weight management policy and practice,' he says. 'Supporting parents doesn't necessarily just improve outcomes for individuals – it may positively influence children's everyday health behaviours such as their diets and activity levels.' For Andi, that family-wide impact is one of the things she values most about her own weight-loss journey. 'I joined because I wanted to lose weight and feel healthier,' she says. 'I never expected it to have such an impact on my whole family. Losing more than six stone has changed my life, but knowing that the changes we've made at home could help my children develop healthy habits for life means even more to me.' The Slimming World group in Havant is on a Tuesday at HSDC Havant college 6pm and 7.30pm and Bedhampton is held on a Friday at St Nicholas church 7.30am, 9am and 10.30am. To join, go along or contact Andi on 07508856506. For more information, or to find your nearest group, visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk