The leader of a Suffolk slimming group hopes to help more people achieve their new year’s weight loss targets, after earning a top accolade.
Sharon Summers, the consultant for Slimming World in Great Cornard, received the organisation’s prestigious Gold Award, in recognition of her work over the last 12 months.
Since January 2024, members of the Cornard group, which meets every Saturday morning, have collectively managed to shed 339 stone under her guidance.
Sharon Summers, consultant at Slimming World in Great Cornard, shows off her Gold Award. Picture: Contributed
Having led the group for almost seven years, Sharon is encouraging others to begin 2025 by adopting good habits to move towards a healthier lifestyle.
She highlighted data which indicates that approximately two-thirds of adults in Sudbury are living with obesity, with potentially serious ramifications for their long-term health.
“As well as the emotional difficulties this causes, obesity is linked to many serious health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes and several types of cancer,” said Sharon.
“So, I’m extremely proud to be supporting people in our community each week to lose weight, by eating more healthily and adopting a more active lifestyle for the long term.”
Slimming World works to help people reach their weight loss targets by using the collaborative group setting to share tips for healthy eating and increased physical activity.
Sharon explained that the healthy influence stretches beyond the group itself, as 75 per cent of members have reported influencing their family and friends to lead a healthier lifestyle.
“It helps people to make changes to the way they shop, cook and eat, so they make healthier choices and lose weight, without ever going hungry or feeling like they’re missing out,” she told the Free Press.
“Each week in group, we make sure everyone’s motivated for the week ahead. We share new recipes, advice and ideas for coping with challenges, and we have loads of fun along the way.”
The Great Cornard branch currently meets every Saturday at the Wells Hall Old School building, at 8am and 10am.
To contact Sharon, call 07983 063038 or email sharonasummers@hotmail.com.
For more information about the wider Slimming World organisation, go online to www.slimmingworld.co.uk.