Family inspire each other to lose more than 15 stone

Heidi Palmer (left), her mum June (centre) and sister Brodie - along with dad Terry - have lost more than 15 stone

A woman has described how she and her family have collectively lost 15 stone (95kg).

Heidi Palmer, 42, from Ironville in Derbyshire, lost the weight together with her sister Brodie, 37, mum June, 63, and dad Terry.

The family, who all live on the same street, said they lost the weight through following healthy eating plans and exercise.

Ms Palmer said: "I think we've kind of inspired and motivated one another."

'A family affair'

Ms Palmer, a former NHS worker, said she had put weight on after having children.

In 2016, she said she had weighed just over 16 stone (101kg) and had decided to take action, joining a weight loss group together with her mum.

"After trying nearly every diet there was... I was quite miserable and I wasn't active at all and I was worried about my mum as well," she said.

"[Losing weight] was quite a family affair for us. Originally it was just me and my mum.

"Since then, my sister's come on board and most recently my dad - because we were a little bit worried about his health - so he has joined the group as well."

Ms Palmer says her family inspired each other to lose weight

She now weighs about 11 stone (69kg) and has run four marathons - one of them together with her sister, who has lost four stone (25kg).

Her mum, meanwhile, has gone from 19 stone (120kg) to 13 stone (82kg) and her dad, who has recently joined a group, has lost 10 pounds (4kg).

The family is signed up to do the Grindleford Gallop - a 21-mile challenge in the Peak District - in March and Ms Palmer also says she has swapped takeaways for healthy cooking with her children, aged 16 and 12.

She now works as a consultant for Slimming World whose classes, she said, supported her family with their weight loss.

Now Ms Palmer says her family exercise together, taking on long-distance walks and even marathons

"I didn't used to be able to run for a bus... we were quite a sedentary family," she said.

"Years ago, there's no way I could ever have thought I could have [run a marathon] and my mum and my sister are the same.

"Now we're more active.

"It started with parking the car a little bit further away on the school run. Me and my sister went out and started walking and now we are both avid runners.

"It's not just about the eating - it's about moving a little bit more, whatever your starting point, to get your heart pumping."