Like most slimmers, I think I'd tried every diet under the sun”, says Deirdre, “unsuccessfully”. It wasn't through lack of motivation on her part, but nothing seemed to work, and as time went by, the pounds kept creeping up. Weight started to affect her life and that was when Deirdre knew something had to be done. “None of my clothes would fit me,I'd look for excuses not to go out and I just couldn't face myself – especially after seeing my wedding photos.” August 2003 was the turning point when Deirdre attended her first Unislim class. Immediately things began to click into place and in the first week alone, Deirdre lost a whopping 7lbs! “Obviously, the numbers weren't always that…

My moment of truth came when I could not fit into my maternity clothes when my daughter was 3 months old. The weight was always there but being a busy mother it was not top of my list of priorities. When I did decide to do something I joined my local slimming club, Unislim. I was very pleased with my class leader, Caroline Ryan, who from day one helped me on my journey of 5 stone of weight loss. Caroline made it easy to turn up for class, she was understanding and supportive and her practical help and tips were of great benefit in sorting out my non-existing eating habits. From week one I changed one to two things each…

“If I wasn't up here, I'd be down there with you ...” these words will be familiar to anyone who's been in any of Fran Powell's Unislim classes over the years. She knows that her involvement in others' slimming campaigns has helped keep her own weight in check and thrives on the camaraderie of the Unislim sessions. “And I get such a kick out of seeing pounds disappear from my members. I lost my own weight in 1999 when I returned from America. I'd been eating those massive portions for too long, so my sister and I decided to get rid of the extra pounds.” Both hit target, but Fran decided to take things a step further and enroll as…

I decided to join Unislim when it got to the stage where I couldn’t fit into any of my clothes. I felt really bloated and realised that I needed to change my lifestyle. My good friend Pat O’Toole was already a member and she really inspired me to join up, too – it was such a support going along to the class with her and sharing the experience. I had tried going to classes before, but when I went on my own it was too easy to skip a class if I felt I’d had a bad week and didn’t want to get weighed. But it’s so important to keep going back, even if you think you’ve slipped. My class…

One day, I was walking up to the local bank and I found myself out of breath, hardly able to continue. I was a size sixteen and I knew that my lifestyle need to change or my health was sure to suffer.  I saw the Unislim Living supplement in the RTE Guide, and decided to ring up and find out about my nearest class. I found my class leader Mary was immediately welcoming. Since April of this year I have gone from a size sixteen to a size ten/twelve. I was determined from the very start to make it happen, and sticking with the Unislim plan has convinced me that I am going to be slim for life. Yes, it…

What made you join Unislim, Darren? My weight gain was a gradual process - at first I didn't really notice the weight going on and I suppose I didn't really care. But in 2000 - when I had just started my new job as an EMT, I found that I was eating on the go, buying fast foods eating just for the sake of it, then I'd go home and eat again. When I went abroad on holidays I was almost 18 stone and I found it a tight squeeze in the plane seats. How did your weight loss plan go? I found it very hard at first counting units and watching everything I ate and having to walk every…

On the 20th of May’08 I joined Unislim because I was fed up of being overweight! As a child I was always heavy, but it was not until I reached my ‘teens’ that my weight became an issue for me. One of the most difficult problems to deal with was being the youngest of three girls and also being the heaviest. While my sisters could always shop and fit into whatever clothes they wished, this was not the case for me. As I was restricted in what clothes I could wear, because not many teen stores stock clothes in big sizes which always annoyed as I always wished to wear the same clothes as my friends and sisters. Wanting to…

After having my son in May 2005 my weight had gone up to over 15stone. I thought it would have been easy to lose but I was proved wrong. After a few months I had finally lost a stone but I was still unhappy about the way I looked. I didn’t like going clothes shopping because I was a size 18-20 and I could never find anything nice to wear for my age. After getting photographs developed from a wedding in April 06 I decided something had to be done about my weight. The photographs were terrible – you could see my big jelly belly through my clothes even though I had bought pull in pants. One day I was…