A WIRRAL father and daughter duo are proving that it really is easier to lose weight with a friend after shedding a massive 11 stone between them in just 14 months.

Wallasey mum Liz McGuiness has been helping people from all walks of life to say farewell to their unwanted weight for more than 10 years through her work as a Slimming World consultant.

But last year, the 43-year-old released that while she was inspiring her members to reach their targets, she was weighing in at 18st 7lb and wearing size 24 clothes.

“I’m very good at my job and have an amazingly successful group but I felt I wasn’t following my own advice that I give to my members,” said mother-of-one Liz.

“I couldn’t put my shoes and socks on properly, I had no energy and I was putting on weight in places that really freaked me out like my knees and the back of my neck.

“One day I just woke up and thought, ‘This is my life, I’ve got to stop messing about’.”

Liz did just that and after heading her own advice, has lost an impressive 6st, slimming down to a healthy size 12 to 14.

As well as helping herself, Liz’s weight loss mission also inspired her dad, 68-year-old Richard Owens, to follow in her footsteps.

“He had a heart bypass two and a half years ago, he has cardio vascular disease and angina – his weight was killing him,” explained Liz.

“He joined my group and got to target with a 5st weight loss.

"He’s now the lightest he has been in 40 years and I’m the lightest I have been in more than 23 years.”

Despite never before dieting, Richard was voted Man of the Year 2014 at Liz’s group.

Wirral Globe:
HALF THE WOMAN: Liz has dropped from a size 24 to a size 12 to 14.

Liz added: “Father and daughter with nearly 11 stone between us – I can’t express how proud of him I am. His weight loss can only help his condition now instead of hinder it.”

Although Liz still has 2st to lose before she reaches her target, she says her life has already changed dramatically.

“I also work as a trainer for the civil service and work in a huge building,” said Liz.

“I’m forever walking passed people who don’t recognise me and do a double take. The area manager thought the ‘big lady’ had left and I was a new trainer – it’s such a great feeling.”

Liz now has her sights set firmly on entering the National Slimming World Consultant Slimmer of the Year competition.

Wirral Globe:
BEFORE: Richard's weight was killing him.

She added: “People ask me all the time how I stay motivated and I tell them it’s all about choice, not willpower.

“There is no such thing as ‘I can’t do it’ or ‘nothing works’, it’s our choice to eat what we eat, no one else’s.

“I get people telling me I am so inspirational but if you had told me this 14 months ago I would have laughed. I get such a buzz out of it and that my success can help other people change their lives.”

  • Liz’s Slimming World group meets at Serpentine Family Church, Liscard Road, Wallasey on Thursdays at 7pm.