WHEN Jayne Band pops along to Weight Watchers in Copmanthorpe for her weekly weigh-in, she is in good company – her mum and sister attend, too.

The three woman have been regulars at the Thursday night class for a few months and have lost eight stone between them.

Youngest daughter Kathryn, 35, was the first to sign up, but when she started shedding pounds mum Margaret followed. Spurned by their success, Jayne joined in, only six weeks after giving birth to Leah, her second child.

“I needed to lose weight before I got pregnant with Leah,” says Jayne, who was a size 18 before joining the programme. Just seven months after giving birth, Jayne is the proud owner of a size ten-to-12 figure, having shed just over three stones.

“I haven’t been that size since my early 20s,” said Jayne.

The new mum, 38, who also has a seven-year-old son, Nathan, said she was determined to lose weight before April when she will be returning to work full time as an area manager at Thomas the Bakers, when it could be hard to resist temptation.

“At work, I would eat everything, from pastries and cakes to sandwiches,” says Jayne. “I will just have to be very disciplined.”

The advantage with Weight Watchers, she says, is that if you do have a treat you can make up for it by having a low-calorie lunch or supper. Foods are assigned points; the more calorific the item, the more points it is worth – which helps dieters make the right decisions.

“If I have a Danish, I know that I can eat a ‘no-point’ soup for lunch or a salad with grilled chicken for dinner,” says Jayne.

The family is following Weight Watcher’s Discover Plan, designed round foods that are more filling and less fattening. For example, two slices of buttered toast are worth three “points”, the same as a mushroom omelette and a small bowl of berries.

Jayne’s sister, Kathryn Barrett, first went to Weight Watchers last July and within four months had lost one and a half stone and reached her target weight of nine stone 13lbs.

Kathryn, mum to Cameron, eight, and Dominic, five, works part time as a childminder and at Quackers nursery in Copmanthorpe. She had tried Weight Watchers when Cameron was a baby but found it hard. This time, she was determined to succeed. What helps, says Kathryn, is to be organised.

“I plan a whole week’s worth of menus in advance,” she says.

Both daughters are thrilled that mum Margaret has followed them in their slimming mission. Margaret Dawson, 63, weighted 14 and a half stone when she attended her first meeting at Copmanthorpe Methodist Church – since when she has lost almost three and a half stone.

Margaret says she tried various fad diets over the years before turning to Weight Watchers. “I feel I have changed my old habits. I eat more veg and salad than I have ever eaten in my life. I never used to like salad – I used to think it was like rabbit food.”

At around 11 stone, Margaret says she feels like a new woman – and is ready for the challenge of looking after Leah two days a week when Jayne returns to work.

“I feel 100 per cent better,” says Margaret. “I’ve more energy and I feel happier when I look in the mirror. I’ve got rid of all my large-sized clothes, so I can’t put weight on.” Since joining Weight Watchers, Margaret has slimmed down from a size 22 to 16 and has taken up swimming.

Kathryn says: “Mum looks fantastic, she’s done really well.”

• Find out more about Weight Watchers at weightwatchers.co.uk

It costs £9 to register and £5.50 a week, but new members can take advantage of an offer of free registration and first meeting free (saving £14.50) until April 3, 2010.

It was when her size 16 clothes began straining at the seams that Pennie Lordan decided it was time to lose weight. “I didn’t want to be a size 18,” says the busy business woman and mum of three.

Pennie, 39, runs bespoke furniture business Furniture For Life in York with her husband, Kevin. They have three children, Livvie, 13, Francesca, 11 and Theo, nine.

At almost six feet, Pennie is tall but, even so, at 16 stone she was overweight.

“I’d put weight on gradually over the years,” says Pennie, who adds that yo-yo dieting made matters worse. “I was at a bit of a loss. I was so overweight and my self-esteem was so low. Everything else in my life was so great, my weight was the one thing holding me back.”

After seeing how a colleague had lost weight and maintained their new figure using SureSlim, Pennie decided to give it a go.

SureSlim is a medically supported eating programme that claims to help people lose 10lbs a month. Clients undergo a blood test which helps a doctor and nutritionist draw up an eating programme using normal everyday foods – no pills, milkshakes or meal replacements. Prices start at £295, although Pennie paid £400. Besides the bespoke diet and eating plan, the price includes weekly one-to-one counselling sessions.

It worked for Pennie. She began losing around three pounds a week and within six months had slimmed down to 11 stones 11 lbs – and a trim size ten to 12.

Not surprisingly, she looks and feels like a new woman.

“I have lots more energy,” says Pennie. “And I don’t bump into things anymore. I’m now a size ten to 12 and people keep saying how tall I look. My children are all pleased too – they told me: ‘I was embarrassed by you’.”

And Kevin? “He says he feels like he’s having an affair with a new woman,” says Pennie with a laugh.

Under SureSlim, Pennie learned to identify the foods which helped get her metabolism working properly. It involved cutting down on startchy carbs, but also eating three clear meals a day and cutting down on snacking.

“I actually ate more for breakfast,” says Pennie. “Before, I would have toast or cereal, but then I started having eggs with mushroom and asparagus and fruit. I never felt hungry.”

Instead of a sandwich at lunch, Pennie packed a tuna salad, while dinner would be chicken or fish. She also cut down on portion sizes.

“It’s a lifestyle change,” says Pennie. And although the initial outlay seems a lot, Pennie believes it is worth it. “There are no hidden extras. Also, by paying the money, you are making a real commitment to change.”  By Maxine Gordon, York Press