Boldon priest hopes to inspire other men after he loses almost three stone in weight

Reverend Paul Barker, who is the Rector of The Benefice of the Boldons, is hoping to inspire more men in the borough to start their own weight loss journeys after he drops three waist sizes.

The dad-of-two first joined a Slimming World group in Sunderland before the Covid-19 pandemic; however, he stopped attending around the time of the second lockdown.

Then since early 2021, the 50-year-old started to attend the Friday morning group at the Boldon Community Association, which is run by Christine Bateman.

Paul has managed to lose 2st 10lbs, going from a waist size of 40 to a 34.

The parish priest decided that he wanted to make a change to his weight due to not liking how he looked and put his weight gain down to eating fast food and snacks throughout his working day.

He commented: "The way I felt and the way I looked was getting me down. During Covid, I piled weight on and I felt very bloated and unfit.

"I really wanted to look and feel better, but also I was aware my fitness and energy levels had suffered to and I wanted to improve these.

"My job means working some long and strange hours. I often used to graze as I went along, grabbing fast food or snacks instead of meals and then a takeout for tea as I didn’t have time or energy to cook.

"Also, being a parish priest there’s a vast amount of cake on offer. I shudder to think how much I used to spend on grabbing things to eat."

Having changed his lifestyle when it comes to eating and exercise, Paul has revealed that he now feels much fitter and healthier.

He has given special praise to the Slimming World recipe books which have allowed him to come up with a much healthier diet for himself.

Paul said: "I can now get into several pairs of trousers I couldn’t get into before, but really I just feel much fitter and healthier.

"I’ve started running again and recently completed Couch to 5K. I definitely couldn’t have run 5K before I came to Slimming World.

"I feel much more confident and happy about my size and shape and very pleased that I feel so much fitter. I don’t feel bloated or out of breath anymore and I have more energy too.

"I think about what I eat a lot more and definitely eat lower fat healthier food, more fruit and vegetables and less processed food or takeaways.

"Lots of the meals from the Slimming World recipe books have become favourites, spaghetti bolognese with loads of veg in it, some fantastic curries and slimming world burgers and chips to name a few."

Now Paul is hoping that his story will inspire others, especially men, to join Slimming World and make a change in their own lives.

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He added: "The group is just really supportive, it really does feel like a big group of friends.

"We’re all in the same boat, all working towards the same goals and we share our struggles and encourage each other and celebrate together as well as swapping recipes and ideas.

"I couldn’t have achieved my weight loss without them. It was going back to group that helped me get here.

"I would love to see more men there, it would be great to see more fellas join Slimming World to try and get a bit fitter and healthier."

You can find out more about Slimming World groups across the region by visiting: https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/counties/tyne-and-wear.