Kirkcaldy grandad loses 10 stone after being told his weight would affect his foster children

John Halley (58) and his wife Angela are full-time foster carers who foster three siblings who had previously been cared for separately.

With plans recently approved for the children to be placed permanently with a family through adoption, John and Angela put their names forward to adopt the kids but were told that because of his weight and any future health issues, the couple would not be considered.

Using this as his motivation to shed the weight John joined Slimming World and went from 24 stone to 14 stone in an epic effort to give three siblings a stable home.

John said: “There was talk of separating all three kids again with them going to different families, so I decided then that the kids weren't going to be split up because of my weight.

"My daughter knew someone who lost weight with Slimming World so I decided to give it a go and I’ve never looked back.

“Before losing the weight I could barely walk anywhere and I would just take the car, but now I’m going hill walking and can go for miles before getting tired.”

As well as being able to enjoy more outdoor pursuits, John said that even simple things like buying clothes was a problem before he slimmed down.

"I can now just walk into a shop and buy clothes straight off the rack,” he said. “I was a 58in waist before I lost weight and had to shop online to get things to fit – now I'm a 38in waist and I can just buy things in the shop, it's the best feeling!

"If you want to lose weight you really need to be motivated, and mine was the thought of the kids being split up again as the trauma that it would have caused would be terrible for them.”

John adds that since joining Slimming World he has been supported and inspired by others on their own weight loss journey.

"Joining a group is the best thing you can do, getting support and inspiration from other people and knowing you can help others too is great.”

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