Big losers stand to win

Danielle Hull from the Belvedere area has lost an amazing three stone seven pounds and has reached the final eight of the Unislim competition in Northern Ireland.

Joining her is Cathal Thompson, a member of the deaf Unislim class in Belfast, who has lost a staggering five stone, two pounds through healthy eating and exercise.

Cathal claims that although being the only man in the group was discouraging at first, he was encouraged by his leader Marie to continue with meetings.

Rather than giving up, Cathal tapped into his competitive side.

“On March 17 my first weight loss was an amazing nine pounds and I won the Slimmer of the Week,” said Cathal.

“I was happy and proud of myself. The atmosphere was fantastic and to be honest, I found it even more exciting because I was beating women in losing weight nearly every week.”

Cathal said he was particularly excited by having a deaf leader at his meetings. The encouragement he received from Marie enabled him to shed the pounds and also contributed to beating respiratory ailments that plagued him before his weight loss.

Danielle joined the Unislim group in Lurgan Town Hall to lose weight after having her first child, only to discover soon after that she was pregnant again.

She attended her meetings throughout her pregnancy and resumed soon after giving birth. She credits Unislim for enabling her to quickly lose her baby weight and emphasizing the importance of healthy eating for her children.

“It has taken all of this hard work and determination to get me this far. As a mother of two lovely daughters, Jessica and Jasmine, I want them to follow in my footsteps and grow up healthy,” Danielle said.

The final takes place on October 20 at Belfast’s Fitzwilliam Hotel. The panel of judges will have the difficult job of selecting the overall winner from the eight fantastic finalist who have lost over an amazing 30 stone.

On the judging panel this year is Kate Smith, TV Presenter, Valerie Agnew, Unislim Regional Manager and Evelyn Hannon, Nutritionist from sponsors LowLow.

The winner will celebrate with £1,000 of cash and some fantastic goodies from LowLow as well as a £250 voucher from CastleCourt in Belfast where the lucky winner can fill their wardrobe with gorgeous clothes to fit their shape.