Real Success

Mike Smith from Beighton, near Sheffield, has been crowned Slimming World’s Greatest Loser 2010 after losing more than half his body weight. Losing 17st 1½lb has not only left him and his family healthier, it’s also given him a new career! Mike shares his story with us here…

Former cab driver Mike Smith nearly lost his life to a blood clot when doctors dismissed his increasing breathlessness as a side effect of his weight.

In fact, he had a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism – a direct result of his fast-food diet and long hours behind the steering wheel in his job as a taxi driver. The truth luckily came to light when his wife, a former nurse, insisted on emergency treatment.

Then his GP warned that without a change in lifestyle, Mike was at serious risk of another DVT. It was the scare the father of two from Beighton, near Sheffield, needed to turn his life around after a 30-year struggle with weight gain.

“I was living on crisps, bottles of pop and chocolate. I tried lots of diets but found them all too hard to fit into my daily routine and odd hours. As the weight climbed, my health suffered. I had sleep apnoea and found it hard to get about. I did most of my own maintenance on the taxi but I’d struggle to get up from underneath the car.

“My wife showed me an article in Slimming World magazine about a local chap who’d lost weight at Lynne’s Eckington group. It set me thinking ‘I could to that too’ so I decided to go along,” says Mike.

“The first night I sat outside the venue for about 20 minutes waiting to see if any other men went inside. Finally I followed two men in – only to find they were going to play bingo! I sat at the back and tried to hide, but still I was made very welcome by Lynne and the rest of the group. The support I’ve had from them ever since has been key to my success right from the start. I lost 7lb in my first week and haven’t looked back.

“The best thing is I’ve never once felt hungry – in fact I’m eating more than I used to. I like a good helping of meat and love curries or steak and Slimming World chips. I knew within a couple of weeks of joining Slimming World and learning about Food Optimising that I’d always eat like this and not go back to my old habits. I love the variety and flexibility of the plan. And since losing the weight I’ve got so much more energy.

“Now we Food Optimise as a family. My eldest son, who’s 30, joined Lynne’s group in May 2009 and has lost just over 7st, while my wife Sue is the chef. There’s a running joke at our group that if you want to lose weight then you should rent Sue out for the week!”

(continued above)

Mike has lost a whopping 28in from his 70in waist and his health problems have shrunk dramatically too. He says: “The sleep apnoea has vanished and nowadays I’ve got so much more energy. I’ve been able to build much more activity into my everyday life with Slimming World’s Body Magic activity programme.

“I can do lots of work in the garden instead of leaving it to Sue and I love being able to wear nice clothes. When you have a 70in waist you don’t get very much choice – these days I can buy clothes off the peg and the only problem I have is keeping my trousers up!”

Since losing weight Mike’s quit his job as a taxi driver and now works as a courier, delivering up to 100 parcels a day. “Often when I’m carrying a particularly heavy parcel, I can’t believe that I used to be lugging that extra weight and more around every day. I must have lost dozens of parcels!”

Mike’s weight loss has given him a new career too – as a Slimming World Consultant. He opened his own group in Halfway, Sheffield last October and now has around 30 regular members. “It’s hard to believe that less than four years ago I was hiding at the back of Lynne’s group and now I’m standing up at the front of my own. I love meeting new members, especially seeing their mouth’s drop open when I tell them how much I’ve lost or show them my ‘before’ pictures. And now I have a lifesize cut-out to show them I’m living proof that what seems impossible is possible!”

find out more

If you'd like to reveal the real you, find your nearest warm and friendly Slimming World group, where men and women are welcome.