After helping two couples lose over 8stone, Lincolnshire Co-op is calling for more people to join its free weight management programme.
The 12-week plan, run at the society’s pharmacy branches, enables people to lose weight steadily and safely and supports participants with calorie information, BMI calculations, weekly weigh-ins, moral support and advice on healthier eating and physical activity.
Stuart and Susan Ewins from Swineshead lost 4st together after signing up for the programme at their local pharmacy.
“We had always talked about losing weight but never got around to it. Once we saw the poster in our pharmacy it gave us that push to go for it,” said Mrs Ewins.
Her husband Stuart weighed almost 19st at the start of the programme and lost three stone and eight pounds. “I was getting rather big, I had a lot of chest and knee pains, and I was seeing the doctor regularly. After doing the programme, I’ve only seen the doctor for a couple of routine checks,” he said.
Juanita and John Newman dropped nearly two stone each when they joined the programme at the co-op’s Heckington pharmacy in January 2018. The couple have gone on to lose another stone each since finishing the programme and they still say hello to the staff in the pharmacy on a regular basis.
“It’s one to one support and even if you have bad weeks you’re never made to feel disappointed,” said Mrs Newman.
“It’s hassle-free and more like a chat with a friend.” added Mr Newman.
Lincolnshire Co-op’s head of pharmacy, Alastair Farquhar, said: “We’re delighted that so many people have found the weight management programme useful, and we’d love to see more benefit from it. This is a free programme that’s not just about losing excess weight – it’s all about helping you feel healthy and learning good habits for life.”
All 49 of Lincolnshire Co-op’s pharmacies offer the 12-week weight management plan and can be located using the online store finder.
