‘It’s shocking how fast the weight creeps back on when you’re not paying attention’Matt’s beloved dog, Romeo, inspired him to get fit again(Image: Handout)

Get fitter, get healthier, lose some weight – it’s a familiar resolution for many every New Year. Matt Foster had conquered that goal once before.

Towards the end of 2024, after a big autumn push, he’d hit the number he’d been aiming for. “I felt great — lighter on my feet, like I’d finally cracked it,” the 55-year-old recalls.

But then, instead of a new year encouraging him to stick with his progress, 2025 wiped out his hard-won weight loss. A close friend died, and almost overnight, every good habit Matt had built just stopped.

“It’s shocking how fast the weight creeps back on when you’re not paying attention,” he admits. “Not dramatic binges, just a quiet slide back into old routines.” By spring 2025, he had undone months of hard work.

Then, Matt lost his bulldog, Romeo. Losing his beloved pet devastated Matt, but Romeo had only ever walked when he felt like it, usually towards home. It made Matt more determined to sort himself out and get healthy again.

“I looked at the scales, looked at my GP’s face during yet another blood pressure check, and thought: right…enough…time to get help,” Matt says.

Matt had a new job that brought new pressures, and his setback left him struggling for willpower. But Matt did his best – he went to the gym, walked 8km a day to and from work, and was privately prescribed weight loss injections.

“No shame in saying it,” he says. “I needed a hand with the cravings and the discipline. But medication alone wasn’t going to fix my habits.”

Matt went back to Slimming World, which had been vital to his first round of weight loss in 2024. He rejoined a Manchester city centre group, and once again, found a place that encouraged him to achieve his goals of getting healthy again.

Matt went back to Slimming World(Image: Handout)

“The warmth, the humour, the total lack of judgement… this is why Slimming World works,” he explains. “It’s the only place you can admit you’ve eaten half a block of cheese at 11pm and someone says, ‘Same! Here’s what I do instead.’”

Matt rediscovered planning, batch-cooking, and the pure joy of leftovers for work lunches. “I learned what Quark is, again,” he laughs, “and even perfected a cheese sauce that doesn’t split. Group discussions get very technical!”

He’s especially grateful for one tip: “Crab sticks with soy sauce. It’s like sushi, but you can enjoy it totally unlimited. Magic.”

Alongside the plan and the medication, the routine began to reshape him. He got his steps iIn, cooked properly, and went back to the gym.

“I stopped pretending baggy tops were a style choice,” he admits. Bit by bit, the weight came off, and stayed off.

Matt has now lost two and a half stone, and the difference is enormous. “My blood pressure’s down without extra medication. My clothes fit again, even the trousers I’d optimistically kept for five years. Colleagues say I look healthier. I feel lighter, inside and out,” he says.

Most importantly, Matt has got his momentum back. “Slimming World gives you that, the weekly nudge, the structure, the sense you’re not doing this alone,” he says. “The medication helped quieten the noise. The walking and gym made me feel strong again. But the group gave me consistency, and the plan gave me control.

“[Romeo would] probably be proud I’m finally the one setting the pace.”

Matt lost weight at Molly and Tim’s Slimming World groups in Manchester City Centre at Methodist Central Hall, Oldham Street, M1 1JQ on Wednesdays at 5.45pm and Thursdays at 6pm. For more information, contact Molly on 07585 488172 or Tim on 07803 046320.