A slimmer who transformed her life by losing almost two stone is using her success to shape a whole new career helping other people change their lives and achieve their weight loss dreams too.

Sophie Venn first joined her local Slimming World group in Packmoor, Stoke-on-Trent, two years ago, and since moving to Cheshire has been a member of the local Congleton Slimming World groups.

Sophie has now trained as a Consultant for Slimming World, the UK's largest group-based weight loss organisation, at their national training academy in Derbyshire and runs her own group in the heart of Congleton.

Due to the pandemic, Sophie runs virtual groups on Friday mornings at 10am and Saturday mornings at 8.30am and is still providing fantastic support for her members.

Sophie said: "Weight issues are becoming such a huge issue across the UK, and this doesn't only include obesity issues, but also mental health problems when it comes to looking at how weight loss can be achieved and the misconception that it is too hard to lose weight without depriving yourself, but this is what sets Slimming World apart as absolutely nothing is banned from your menu!

"During lockdown, we have seen that so many people have gained weight and are unhappy with themselves, even those who have never had a weight problem or struggled to maintain a healthy weight, have seen a change since being stuck at home with only minimal exercise allowed."

When I first joined Slimming World as a member, I never dreamed that I would end up helping other people to lose weight but now I am, and after losing almost 2st and completing my training, it's a privilege for me to be able to pass on the experience, insight and understanding that helped me, so that I can give my members the support they need to get to target, happily and healthily - even now when we are unable to meet in person, we all meet virtually to keep us on the right track!

Support is really the most important thing and that is what I received from the very first time I stepped through the doors of my local Slimming World group. It all starts with feeling that you are not alone.

I could not have lost weight without the weekly help, encouragement and understanding of my own Consultant and the whole group. As someone who has lost weight myself I know the challenges people can face, which is why, along with the group, will be there to support every one of my members all the way to their chosen target weight.

Setting targets, sharing recipes and other ideas, and working together as a group to overcome challenges and celebrate success is so important to a successful journey. That is why, at my Slimming World group, there will be tons of support, encouragement and fun.

Like a lot of slimmer's, I had tried to lose weight so many times before in numerous ways but they were never sustainable because I'd always get tired of restricting what I ate, until I got to the point where I stopped eating completely.

Feeling like this was the only way I could feel happy about myself, I began to eliminate food completely from my life. When I had tried previous diets, I felt it was all I thought about, what I could have, what I couldn't have, how fast or slow the weight was coming off – it was too much and it became the sole focus in my life. I wanted that to stop completely.

Of course, making this drastically negative change came with its own problems – lack of energy, fainting, low mood leading to depression, making excuses to my friends when out as to why I was not eating etc.

Although I was trying to get away from food becoming the focus of my life, it still ended up being that way as I was then always worried that someone would notice and it wasn't something I wanted to face. Despite losing significant weight, I was not happy with myself as it was so hard to try and sustain and it made me extremely stressed and unhappy.

When I decided to make a change and stop harming myself in this way, I first went to my doctor but unfortunately they weren't able to help me as I wasn't 'underweight enough' to qualify for NHS help.

I knew I had to do it on my own, and with the help of my husband, David, I began to eat normally again. This was, at times, painful and uncomfortable. I had bloating, cramps and of course, panic about gaining weight – but the thought that life was about more than being as slim as possible, kept me on track.

After a while, my weight settled, and I felt much better in myself health wise. But of course, I was not completely happy with my weight – but this time, I wanted my journey to be about getting healthier and being stress-free when going about it.

I thought I was destined to struggle with my weight for the rest of my life, but when I came to Slimming World it was different. I never felt like I was on a diet at all. The eating plan encourages you to eat lots of tasty, filling foods and this even included my favourites like pasta, rice, potatoes, lean meat and fish.

I was never hungry, and no foods are banned so there is no deprivation. I could not believe I had found a way to lose weight without starving myself and it felt absolutely amazing!

I disclosed my eating disorder to my Consultant, and she gave me some great information as well as advice to consult my GP to ensure that Slimming World was the right path for me.

With the approval from my GP, I became a member of my local Slimming World group – and I have never looked back.

Slimming World is not just about changing what you eat. Becoming more active is important too.

Our Body Magic programme takes the threat out of activity by showing people, many of whom have unpleasant memories of being forced to take part in activity at school, how they can build activity into their daily routine without having to take up traditional forms of exercise like going to the gym or running. Everything counts from walking to gardening to washing the car.

I love nothing more in the world, than my three dogs; Kimi, Tia and Jess and as you can imagine, they need a lot of exercise, so I love spending time with them by taking them out walking and exploring new, local places to get my Body Magic!

As a Consultant it is my role to create that warm, supportive atmosphere to get people sharing their ideas and experiences to help others - it is going to be great fun!

We have a huge variety of groups running from Monday to Saturday, so there will be a time and day to suit everyone!

Claire Woodward has groups on Mondays at 6pm and Tuesday mornings at 10am, Laura Bounford on Wednesdays at 5pm and 7pm, Kedren Elliott has groups every Thursday at 10am, 12pm & 6.30pm and Sophie Venn has groups on Fridays at 10am and Saturdays 8.30am - please feel free to contact Sophie at any time on 07866743220 to find out more.

For more information visit the Slimming World website or call 0344 897 8000.