Weight loss: couple shamed by airline into losing over 11 stone

The couple, who have three children and two grandchildren, said they have always struggled with their weight, but despite endless diets, nothing worked. But after both of their embarrassing

incidents, they decided to take action and joined Slimming World last July on the recommendation of their 29-year-old daughter Rachel. They also encouraged nine relatives to lose weight, and

as a family they have now lost a total of 24st 9lbs between them. Mr Gibbon said: "It was never supposed to be my weight-loss journey, I was going to follow the plan at home to support

Amanda and that was it. "I thought a Slimming World group would be a roomful of ladies and didn't think that would suit me because of that, but little did I know how inspirational

those ladies would be. Our group is like a family to us now." Mrs Gibbon said: "I told Mark I needed him to come in with me and the rest is history. "Life is just amazing

now. We're healthier - Mark's doctor told him that he's probably added 20 years to his life - and so much fitter. "We love running around after our grandchildren instead

of being 'Nan and Bamp' who just sit in the chair or puff and pant after just five minutes of playing. "This isn't a diet, it's a way of life for us now and

we're not going to let go of everything that we've gained thanks to Slimming World. "We always tell people: the hardest part is walking through the doors, the rest is easy.

"We've learned how to cook from scratch and experiment with flavours - we often joke that we didn't know what a butternut squash or courgette was before Slimming World.

"The biggest change we made was starting to plan our meals though." The pair have also started their own walking group with some members of their Slimming World group in Chepstow.