SLIMMERS in the borough will get first-hand advice from a couple that lost more than ten stone between them.

SLIMMERS in the borough will get first-hand advice from a couple that lost more than ten stone between them.

Doctors told Russell Gray, 49, he could not have spine operations because he was too heavy for the operating table.

Russell said: “I was bed-ridden for eleven months and in terrible pain, with no mobility.

Together with his wife Lynda, 46, he decided to join a slimming group in October last year.

Lynda, who is from Dagenham East but now lives in Romford, said: “We thought if we joined together, we would help one another.”

Russell has lost ten stones and Lynda lost two stones and seven pounds. He said: “Since losing the weight I feel and look like a totally different person.”

He has had five surgical procedures now and has less pain.

The pair had to give up their upholstery business when Russell fell so ill that Lynda also had to give up work and became his carer.

But being at home all the time meant she began to pile on the pounds. She said: “When you’re at home, you have a biscuit with every cup of coffee. My weight piled on.

“Now we’re on a healthy eating plan and we are never hungry. We’re much healthier and happier.”

On Monday (September 27), Lynda will start her own Slimming World group. She said: “I’m excited and nervous. I have got a career out of it, and it is one where I can help other people.”

You can meet Lynda and Russell every Monday between 5.30pm and 7.30pm when the group will meet at Old Dagenham Methodist Church, Rainham Road South, Dagenham.

A 12-week course at Slimming World, which is a private company, costs �55.68.