By Isle of Wight Observer
An Isle of Wight woman who lost 4st 7lbs has attended a Parliamentary Reception at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster thanks to her inspirational weight loss.
Kim Street, 47, dropped from 13st 6½lbs to 8st 13½lbs with Slimming World and was named Slimming World’s Top Target Consultant 2018. She was invited as a special guest of Slimming World to its Parliamentary Reception, which aimed to raise awareness of the help and support needed by people living with obesity.
The reception was hosted by Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE. Andrew Selous MP, co-chair of the All Party Group on Obesity and member of the Health Select Committee, spoke at the event and was joined on the platform by two Slimming World members who shared their personal weight-loss stories.
Kim, former head teacher, who now runs her own Slimming World groups, and has gone from a clothes size 18/20 to a size 8/10, says: “I was honoured to be asked by Slimming World to join them at Westminster, and was very happy to talk to other reception guests, including MPs and health professionals, about how joining Slimming World – and losing weight – has changed my life.
“I really hope that sharing my personal experiences will give them a better understanding of how overweight people feel and what a difference getting the right tools, like a flexible and generous healthy eating plan and encouragement to become more active, and support can be. I never could have dreamt that I’d be in this position when I first began my weight-loss journey.”
Kim says she didn’t start to struggle with her weight until puberty, then during her first few years as a newly-qualified teacher the long working days took their toll as she relied on takeaways and convenience foods, and later she found herself seeking comfort from her unhappy relationship in food. Kim had just found the confidence to leave an abusive relationship when she received abuse about her weight in the street, and soon after decided to join Slimming World to make a healthy change.
Kim went on to drop five dress sizes and has maintained the 4st 7lbs weight loss she achieved ever since 1999. She was so enthusiastic about Slimming World that shortly after losing weight, Kim trained as a Consultant and ran Slimming World groups alongside her job as a primary school teacher for 13 years. She gave up the role briefly when she became a head teacher, but left teaching and returned to running groups two years ago. Through Slimming World she discovered that being active didn’t have to mean joining a gym, and loves exploring the local coastline with her husband Paul, 59.
Slimming World held the Parliamentary Reception alongside a roundtable event where throughout the day MPs, Peers, health professionals and other industry experts came together to debate ways in which the obesity epidemic can be effectively tackled, and how help can be provided to the millions of people it already affects. Working with policy makers, Slimming World aims to help develop a better understanding of a range of issues and encourage collaboration and partnership in finding solutions.
