Ladies shed pounds and their clothes for charity

Ruth Wilson, from Monkstown, Angela Jordan, from Ballyclare, Brenda McDowell, from Carrick and Victoria Devine, from Ballyclare are members of the “We Slim Together” group which meets at St. Brigid’s Church Hall in Glengormley.

Sonya McAllister, founder of We Slim Together, said that as well as attending groups at various locations, members take part online.

They’ve formed a community supporting each other through their website and Facebook page, with members posting meal plans and motivators on a daily basis.

It is this community spirit that inspired the members to come up with a way to raise money for charity.

The chosen charity was NI Chest, Heart and Stroke to help fund their school programme where they teach children on how to stay healthy and avoid obesity. Many members have personal experiences of health problems linked to these three areas and jokingly the idea of a naked calendar to raise funds was suggested.

Sonya said: “I thought there was no way I could take my clothes off for any camera and I never believed anyone would want to volunteer to do a naked calendar.

“How wrong I was when 23 members signed up, I had no way out!”

The 23 members, along with Sonya, who took part in the photo shoot, have lost a total of 66 stone.

Sonya continued: “On the day of the shoot, they had a ‘How to Look Good Naked’ style makeover before being elegantly placed in front of the camera for the photographer.

“It was a confidence boosting life experience none of the ladies will forget and I’m sure you will agree when you see the photos everyone looked stunning.

The A3 calendar is available to purchase at £10 each at outlets including Karma Hair Design, Ballyclare, Serendipity at Home, Glengormley, any We Slim Together group or member or online via the website www.weslimtogether.co.uk/buy-the-we-slim-together-charity-calendar/plus p&p.