Thurcroft teacher top of the class after shedding more than six stone thanks to lesson plan

Julie Annesley (54), a teacher at The Willows School, Thurcroft, has dropped six dress sizes after going from 15st 11lbs to 9st 7lbs.

A TEACHER who charted her weight loss journey on her whiteboard for all her pupils to see lost over six stones in 18 months.

The mum-of-two, who said she had decided to lose weight because she didn’t like the way she looked, would always hide in photos and hated going shopping for clothes.

“I thought: ‘Right, that’s it - I need to do something’,” she said.

Julie, who had been overweight since her school years, rejoined the Wickersley branch of Weight Watchers - now known as WW - in January, 2017, and is now, for the first time in her life, a size ten.

The personal, social and health education (PHSE) teacher had a novel way of motivating herself through her weight loss journey.

“I wrote my weight on the classroom whiteboard and told pupils that I would never weigh that much again,” she said.

“Each week, I wrote my new weight on the board.

“The kids told me: ‘There must be something wrong with your scales’, but then they saw I was losing weight.”

Julie said it had been a great way of helping her “be accountable to myself”.

She added: “If I was having a drink or a snack they would say: ‘You can’t have a biscuit, Mrs!

“The kids motivated me. We always talk about eating healthily and exercising in lessons.

“If I’m teaching PSHE, I should really practice what I preach.”

Julie, who lives in Wickersley with husband Kevin and children Kyle (21) and Amilee (15), said she had now achieved her ideal weight of 9st 7lbs.

She now helps out at the WW classes and hopes her weight loss will inspire others.

“It’s about tracking what you eat and being aware of what you eat,” said Julie.

“Don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad day - just keep going.”

Julie said her family and friends had been amazed by her new look.

“I have just come back from a family party with people I’ve not seen for a long time and they can’t believe I’ve lost as much weight as I have, and kept it off,” she said.

Losing weight had improved her health and boosted her confidence and self-esteem, she added.