A super slimmer from Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway was congratulated on losing 6st 1.5lbs by
Emmerdale actor Anthony Quinlan after reaching the final stages of a national slimming competition.
Kirsteen Kneeshaw’s inspirational weight loss earned her a place as one of just 10 women – out of all of Slimming World’s 800,000 members across the UK and Ireland – to make the finals of Slimming World’s Woman of the Year 2015 competition.
And Anthony, who made his name on TV as Gilly Roach in Hollyoaks and is currently playing Pete Barton in ITV1 soap Emmerdale, visited the organisation’s head office in Derbyshire to help Kirsteen and the other slimmers celebrate.
Twenty-three-year-old Kirsteen joined the Castle Douglas Slimming World group, which meets every Monday at 7:30pm at The Indoor Bowling Hall, in June 2013. She has since gone from 17st 5.5lbs to 11st 4lbs, and earlier this year her transformation inspired members of the group to vote her as their representative in the annual Woman of the Year competition. After winning the regional heat and triumphing at the national semi-finals, she was in the running to win the overall title of ‘Slimming World Woman of the Year 2015’ and a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Dubai. Along with the other nine finalists, Kirsteen was invited to the annual Slimming World Awards but unfortunately missed out on the top prize*.
She says: “I’d tried losing weight before – I’ve done pretty much every diet there is – yet I always found the plans that I followed too hard to stick to because they left me feeling hungry and deprived, which made me miserable. Slimming World was completely different, I don’t have to go hungry and I’ve never once felt like I’m missing out on anything. Many of the changes I’ve made to the way I cook and eat have been small ones, like swapping frosties for branflakes and using low calorie spray instead of oil or butter in my cooking, but they’ve made a big difference to my weight. With Slimming World I still enjoy all my favourite dishes like steak dinner and mushy pea curry too. The meals I cook taste great, so my family and friends are always happy to tuck in as well, which means I don’t have to spend time preparing different dishes for everyone and they’ve benefitted from eating more healthily without even trying. Nowadays, instead of snacking on biscuits or crisps, I’m more likely to have a piece of fruit or a fat-free yogurt. Although nothing’s banned at Slimming World so I still enjoy a gin and tonic and some chocolate, too.”
Kirsteen says even with Slimming World’s easy eating plan she couldn’t have achieved all she has without the support of her Slimming World group: “I can remember the first time I walked into the group I felt very self-conscious and so nervous, everyone was really friendly though and made me feel really welcome. Now I look forward to it every week. We swap recipes and advice, and it’s a lot of fun. The best thing is great support though and I don’t think I’d have been able to get to where I am today without my Consultant Grant and the rest of the Castle Douglas group.”
Grant Ross, who runs the Castle Douglas Slimming World group which Kirsteen currently attends, is very proud of her: “Kirsteen hasn’t only changed how she looks, she’s a different woman on the inside too. She’s blossomed into a happy, confident person and it’s been a pleasure to share in her journey. She’s already such an inspiration to so many of us in the Castle Douglas group and I’m sure she’ll inspire even more people now.”
Anthony was amazed by Kirsteen’s weight loss. He says: “It was a real pleasure to meet Kirsteen and hear about her inspirational weight loss – she looks so happy and healthy now! I’m glad I didn’t have to be a judge in the competition because I think all of the women I met were amazing – they’ve completely changed their lives and that makes them all winners in my opinion.”
If you’ve been inspired by Kirsteen’s story and are interested in joining the Castle Douglas Slimming World group everyone’s welcome to pop along or can call Grant on 01557 840216 for more information.
*The winner of Slimming World’s Woman of the Year competition 2015 was Cheryl Blythe, 34, who lost 14st 3lbs, and attends the Basildon Slimming World group in Essex.
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