Success Stories: Graham and Andy

Graham says:

I didn’t come out as gay until I was 28, just before I met Andy, which tells you something about how I felt about myself. At my largest, I was wearing XXXXXXL clothes.

When I met Andy in a pub at Christmas 2009, we hit it off and moved in together just a couple of months later. That’s when I piled on even more weight. We both love food and Andy is a trained chef, so most nights, he’d make a big dish of delicious food and we’d share a lot of wine. But we were happy and in love. 

 After my mother’s birthday party in 2013, I finally decided to do something. Andy and I were the biggest people there and, while no one said anything, I felt embarrassed.

I told Andy that I was going to join Weight Watchers and was delighted when he said he’d join, too. I was stunned when the scales tipped over 25st at our first meeting, but overjoyed when I lost 9lb after the first week. Our Leader, Jo, set me small targets, and the weight came off gradually. When I reached my goal weight 18 months later, it was pretty emotional.

Being slim has changed my life. I used to be nervous of what other people thought of me, but now, I don’t care.

Andy proposed in 2010 and I knew I didn’t want my wedding pictures taken at that size. Now, our wedding is the next goal, and we are scouting locations. We just want to live happily ever after.

Andy says:

When I got together with Graham, the fact that we were both struggling with our weight probably brought us closer. We fell in love and didn’t think about what we were eating, because we were enjoying ourselves so much.

But I was happy when he suggested joining Weight Watchers. Doing the plan together spurred us on and when I got to goal after 10 months, Graham was delighted for me.

Since Weight Watchers, our relationship has changed for the better. Before, we’d always stay in and have a meal. Now, we’re always going out. We’re also wearing more fashionable clothes instead of being embarrassed about going into clothes shops, in case nothing would fit us. Losing weight has given us both such a boost in confidence. We’re very happy and our big day will be the final celebration of how far we’ve come.

Graham and Andy found success together at meetings – you can too