HONEY WE SHRUNK THE FAMILY (and lost 30st)

MARY Woolgar and her two sons Peter and John are half the family they used to be...after losing an enormous THIRTY STONE.

This time last year the trio had a combined weight of 69 stone after years of bingeing on junk food.

John, 30, was the heaviest, tipping the scales at a vast 27st. His younger brother Peter, 24, weighed in at 23st. And even mum Mary was a roly-poly 19st.

But now John is just 16st 7lb, Peter a mere 10st 7lb, and Mary, 53 - now 12st - can slip into size 14 dresses.

Mary says: "It's given me a new lease of life. I've even started playing football to keep me fit. And it's great shopping for clothes, as I can go into any shop rather than ones for 'big girls'."

The family's huge size came after years of eating all the wrong things. Mary says: "I've always fed the boys really well - when they were younger they didn't like vegetables so I gave them chips rather than salad or greens.

"As they got older I thought they both deserved a treat when they got in from work and that normally took the form of huge home- cooked meals like bacon pudding and chips and then pizzas and burgers for night-time snacks. I was killing them with kindness - and we all piled on the weight."

Crunch time came when office worker Peter and John, a sheet metal worker, tried to take a martial arts class near their home in Brighton, Sussex - and found they were too out of breath to do it.

John says: "Ironically, even though we were overweight Peter and I had always loved kung fu. But as we got bigger it became harder and harder to take part and we found we were out of breath so we knew it was diet time.

"When we stepped on the scales for the first time I was horrified by the weight we had both reached. We were both so used to hiding our bodies under outsized T-shirts and baggy jeans it was a shock to top the scales at 27 stone."

Both joined Weight Watchers in July last year - and after a month had each lost over a stone.

And realising mum Mary was also battling the bulge they persuaded her to join too. Mary says: "Usually it's the parents nagging the children to eat well, but this time it was the other way round.

"We're lucky to have done it as a family and we stop each other from buying junk food. I don't feel frumpy now - and we're happier than we've ever been."

Daily menu BEFORE

BREAKFAST Nothing

MID-MORNING Beans on toast or a doughnut

LUNCH

Two cheese toasties or two rounds of sandwiches, crisps, cake and two chocolate bars

DINNER Roast pork or fish and chips

EVENING SNACK Burger or pizza

AVERAGE CALORIES:

5,500

Daily menu NOW

BREAKFAST Fruit 'n' Fibre cereal or toast

MID-MORNING

Apple or strawberry smoothie

LUNCH Tuna Salad

DINNER Vegetable curry

EVENING SNACK Nothing!

AVERAGE CALORIES:

1,500

Copyright 2005 MGN LTD
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