On top of leading a healthier lifestyle, Danielle Arins, 37, is now representing Slimming World in their 14-strong official marathon team this April. The Slimming World members, Consultants, and Head Office staff come from across the UK and Ireland and between them have lost more than 81st (514kg).
The runners are raising money for Cancer Research UK, the Irish Cancer Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK, Slimming World’s official charity partners. Danielle’s running for Alzheimer’s Research UK and aiming to increase awareness of how keeping a healthy weight and moving more can improve health and wellbeing. According to Alzheimer’s Research UK’s ‘Think Brain Health’ campaign, being active is one of several ways people can help protect brain health and reduce their risk of dementia in later life.
Danielle’s weight had yo-yoed since her early 20s as she found her university lifestyle saw her drinking more often and turning to high fat snacks and takeaways regularly.
Danielle says: “I tried lots of fad diets such as juicing, which felt like starvation, and a diet that was recommended for patients set to undergo heart surgery and needed to lose weight quickly. It’s quite sad to look back on as I realise how desperate I was.
“Being overweight hit my confidence and self-esteem. I had an overwhelming feeling of not being in control of my relationships, of my working life and of my food. It made me depressed - a condition I was later diagnosed with. I remember breaking down in front of my mum one day and she encouraged me to join my local Slimming World group to help take control of my weight.
“Attending group for the first time was daunting but I knew I had to believe in myself if I was going to succeed. My Consultant welcomed me and put me at ease as we went through the eating plan together.”
Slimming World’s eating plan gave Danielle the knowledge and skills to make changes to the way she ate and it was flexible so she didn’t need to give up her favourite meals. She says: “I couldn’t believe that I’d be able to eat my favourite foods like steak and chips and still lose weight. I made lots of healthy swaps to my day-to-day life like switching my shop bought sandwich and crisp lunches for soup or homemade prawn and noodle stir fry.”
As Danielle lost weight and grew in confidence, she decided to explore Slimming World’s physical activity support programme, which helps members to embrace and integrate active habits into their everyday life. The programme recognises a wide range of activities, to suit all ability levels and budgets, and supports members to increase activity from their own individual starting point and at their own pace.
Danielle says: “Before joining Slimming World, I was sporadic with my activity – I either went all in or did nothing at all. It was never a habit I could ever stick to. Slimming World has encouraged me to stay active by building my activity levels up gradually and doing exercises that I love, like weightlifting and running.
“As a district manager for Slimming World I love the opportunities the role has given me and I love meeting new Consultants who will inspire their members to make the same changes I did, knowing that when they do, they’ll start to feel so much better, physically and mentally.
“Since losing weight, my confidence has rocketed, and I’ve got a much better mindset. I want to raise as much money as possible by running the London Marathon in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK. I’m keen to raise vital funds for an important charity which works to find a cure for dementia, a condition which sadly affects many families.”
Money raised for Alzheimer’s Research UK helps fund life-saving research. Anyone who would like to sponsor Danielle can do so by visiting: Danielle’s page