Fighting the flab is a family affair for one group of mums and daughters.

Losing weight was something Gillian Clark, Caroline Barnett and Sam Pearson all wanted to do. Gillian joined with her daughter Rebecca, while Caroline and Sam had their mums for support.

Gillian Clark was brought up with bread and butter as an after-tea treat. Substituting butter for spreads hasn't helped her. In the end it was a yearning to kit herself out in comfortable-fitting clothes which made her shed the pounds.

She'd joined numerous slimming clubs over the years but her commitment lapsed. Refreshed from a holiday in May, Gillian decided to give Slimming World another go and joined the group in Clayton, her home before her recent move to Gildersome.

She tipped the scales at more than 11st on her first visit, at 5ft 5, she's lost more than a stone since then.

Her incentive? "The number on the scales does it, but the worst thing is clothes," says Gillian.

"I never wanted to go out. I was squeezing into things so it was being able to fit comfortably into clothes I want to be in.

"Obviously there's a health thing too. We have diabetes and heart disease in the family so I can't afford to carry extra weight," says Gillian.

Experiencing the changes through her own weight loss gave her the inspiration to help others. She's already coaching her 23-year-old daughter Rebecca who also battles with her weight, perfect practice for the receptionist's latest role as a Slimming World consultant.

Gillian was so impressed with the diet plan which enabled her to eat healthily without spending a fortune and giving up the things she likes to eat, she decided to join the ranks.

She can empathise with clients and she knows she'll get great job satisfaction. "I am much happier. It's not like I'm going to run a marathon, but I'm able to go out and not look like a mess. I feel happy in my own body."

Homesickness led Caroline Barnett to comfort eat. She's battled with her weight since her teenage years and tried dieting. "I used to be on a diet and two days later I'd binge on something," she says.

Moving from Nuneaton to Bingley left her homesick. She started comfort eating. "Then along came Josh," says Caroline, referring to the arrival of her 16-month-old son.

Her incentive to get slim was a comment made about her size. "I can't remember exactly what the comment was but I thought right. And there were other things too like climbing the stairs so I thought I'd have to do something," says Caroline.

She accompanied her mum, Linda Barlow, to her first Slimming World class in Crossflatts last October. Overhauling her diet, substituting fatty foods with healthy meals enabled her to shed four stone. Caroline now weighs 12st 7lb and has returned to a slimmer 14, the size she was before piling on the pounds.

And she says she's now happier. "I was at rock bottom when I joined. If I was going out anywhere I'd spend days before worrying what I was going to wear," says Caroline. "But losing weight has boosted my confidence and shopping is fun."

Now Caroline is hoping to inspire other people by becoming a Slimming World consultant. "They inspired me to do it and I love helping people anyway," she says.

After having two children Sam Pearson admits struggling to shed the pounds she put on during her pregnancies.

"I lost weight before I got married and then when I had our first child I put the weight back on. Then I really struggled and never got it back off before I had our second child. When he was seven months old I still looked like I was pregnant. I thought enough is enough," says Sam.

Sam joined her local Slimming World near to her home in Wyke after seeing an advert on TV. "It said if you don't lose weight you can get your money back so I thought it must work!"

Since joining four months ago Sam has slimmed down from 12st 8lb to 10st 7lb and has dropped two dress sizes in the process. Seeing how good she looks prompted her mum Betty Chadwick to tag along too! Betty has lost a stone. "She saw how well I was doing so she came along."

Snacking during the day was Sam's weakness. She still snacks but chooses healthier things. "If I snack it's on fruit so it's healthier and we eat Slimming World things as a family so it fits into our lifestyle."

"I can still have a bar of chocolate or some chips but it's in moderation. It's about changing the way you eat."

Now she's helping others by becoming a Slimming World consultant. "I am a lot more confident and I love shopping for clothes, because I've done so well I wanted to help others and give them the confidence I've got from losing weight," she says.

  • Sam's class is at 7pm on Tuesdays at Queensbury Conservative Club. Gillian's classes are on Tuesdays at 5pm and 7pm at the Methodist Church in Clayton. For details call 0113 252 8711. Caroline's class is at the Reformed Methodist Church in Wilsden at 7pm on Mondays.