Army veteran shares her secret to achieving two-stone weight loss

Pip Flegel, from Garstang, puts her two-stone weight loss success down to Weight Watchers (WW).

The 66-year-old, who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), set herself the challenge of losing weight to prepare for a 10k wheelchair run to raise funds for the Women’s Royal Army Corps

Association.

Pip joined her local WW Workshop in Garstang in preparation of the charity feat, which she recently completed with her training partner Jann Brant-Cassidy.

Pip, who is unable to exercise due to her MS, said: “We both felt ecstatic completing the 10k and achieving all the hard work.

“Maybe I wasn’t able to help physically but I did my bit, I was over two stone lighter to push!”

Pip and Jann, 67, were due to take part in the 10k wheelchair run in Cardiff but the coronavirus crisis led to the event being changed to a virtual option and the pair completed the run

around Garstang in two hours, raising £300.

Pip, a former member of the Women’s Royal Army Corps, had been met with a warm welcome by her WW coach Lynne Toon in February and began to change her habits to heathier ones

to see success on the scales.

When the first lockdown started in March she found support in the virtual workshops offered by WW.

She added: “The WW app helps with tracking thanks to the barcode scanner which makes choosing healthier foods really easy and the recipe section is brilliant plus seeing other

members sharing their inspirational success really helps you to keep going.

“The virtual workshops were an inspiration to keep going and offered that face to face contact with a WW coach and other members to allow us to continue to share tips to conquer the

challenges.”

WW coach Lynne said: “Pip’s results and mindset shift, with support from her partner and carer Frank Spencer, saw Pip taking control of her snacking habit and she took the decision to

say no to snacks after 6pm.

“With Frank responsible for the shopping in lockdown he encouraged Pip on her quest by leaving the tempting treats on the shelves plus Pip switched to WW snacks to enjoy a guilt-free

treat.

Pip has now achieved her goal weight of 8st 7lbs.

She added: “I couldn’t ask for a better coach than Lynne and have nothing but praise for her.”

Lynne added: “Pip is an amazing lady and doesn’t let her disability stop her trying anything – including trying to hula hoop whilst holding on to the washing line.

“She’s been a delight to have in the group. She brought a lot to the workshop and plenty of laughs.”

To find out more, visit www.ww.com/uk

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