“No way am I going into a swimming pool and wearing a swimsuit”.

Ruth is a single mother to Carys, Nia and Megan (18 years old twins, and 15 years old) from Llanllwni. Her sister and friends are keen for her to find a new man in her life, but at the moment Ruth isn’t confident enough to do that and she’s not happy with the way she looks.

Ruth has had more than enough of being ‘the fat one’ when going on days out and holidays with her friends. There’s up to 11 of them and according to Ruth she’s the biggest of them all.

The main obstacle for Ruth is her hip – as she usually suffers pain after walking on hard ground. She feels that she needs to strengthen her muscle as soon as possible, as it has stopped her from completing the ‘Couch to 5 k’ program in the past.

Ruth feels that she’s always battled with her weight over the years, and that it got especially worse following her divorce. Now, she’s more than ready to do something for herself – especially since the girls are older.

She started playing golf in 2019 but, in her own words “I got the gear but no idea!”. Ruth is full of enthusiasm to start going more often and to look good in her golfing outfit!

By the end of FfIT Cymru she wants the confidence to book a holiday somewhere hot with her daughters… and to be confident in a swimsuit once again!

“Show the people who watch the program that big Kev can turn his illness around for a better future”

Originally from the Caernarfon area, Kevin Jones now lives in Ruthin with his wife Pam. Between them they have 8 children and 3 of them currently live with the couple. Kevin now feels that it’s the right time to change his life and to inspire others to do the same.

Kevin is always on the road travelling with his work as a Radiographer and Leader of Medical Services in Britain and Ireland. He usually eats a minimum of 4 chocolate bars during one journey!

The main reason he wants to lose weight is to get rid of his Type 2 Diabetes. His diabetes has been up and down over the past few years but last year he succeeded in reversing it. However after rewarding himself (following his accomplishment) the diabetes returned, so he wants to get rid of it now, once and for all. He’s promised Pam that he will do something about the situation and is adamant to keep to his promise.

He admits that he feels like a complete “hypocrite”, as he’s always telling his diabetic patients to loose weight whilst he has diabetes himself.

Kevin feels that being overweight stops him from doing quite a lot of activities and feels he misses out on some experiences. He wants to be able to go out walking with his friends again, and do more outdoor activities He has tried various diets in the past, but he needs a boost to help stop Pam and the family from worrying about his health.

By the end of the series, Kev’s goal is to be able to reverse his Type 2 diabetes, and to go on a Zipline as well!

“I have to transform my life before going to Australia…”

The young dentist from Ruthin, will be going to Australia in September 2020 (to travel/work) – and by then, hopes to have lost some weight and live a healthier life.

Elen graduated in 2019 from the University in Birmingham – and has since worked at a dental surgery in the Wrexham area. The hours are long, and involve a lot of sitting-down work.

Even though she’s a vegetarian, she doesn’t actually eat healthy at all! The fact that she works anti-social hours means that she is constantly snacking and eating in secret. She once bought 15 chocolate bars and hid them in the glove compartment inside her car for no one to see!

For Elen, each and every weekend is one big party! She enjoys socialising and loves to go out for food and drinks with friends – no matter what the occasion! But, more often than not, it is so demoralising when she’s out looking for something new to wear – with her confidence quickly disappearing.

She also used to enjoy boxing at one time – but by now, her friend and boxing partner has moved house, with her passion for boxing long gone.  The only thing that Elen really wants, is somebody to accompany her to the leisure centre.

Elen lives with her mother and younger brother in their family home in Ruthin. Her mother works as the local GP – and has also agreed to follow the Food Plan along with her daughter.

With Elen going ‘Down Under’ in September, she certainly needs her confidence back very soon!

“I lost 8 stone for my wedding – but I’ve put 7 stone back on!”

A primary school teacher, that’s who Iestyn Owen-Hopkins is. Originally from Caernarfon but now living in Llanrhymni with his very supportive husband Emyr. Over the past few years Iestyn has been on numerous diets, where his weight has fluctuated a lot. He lost 8st before his wedding but put 7st back on shortly after that. He admits himself that he can’t stick to a diet, but is now more adamant than ever, that he will get out of the vicious circle this time.

His downfall is over-eating and eating in secret. He usually waits for Emyr to leave the house before popping to the local shop to get some snacks. Iestyn wants professional help to get to the bottom of his eating problem as well as understand why he can’t stick to a diet.

As well as being a primary school teacher in Caerphilly , Iestyn also runs his own candle business to keep himself busy. Between his business and teaching, Iestyn used to like running – so much, that he ran the London Marathon a few years ago! However, he hasn’t been running for a while, but is very keen to get back on it and also learn how to lift weights.

He doesn’t eat breakfast and usually goes to the local shop for his lunch. He therefore needs a better structure when it comes to food, and time to prepare his lunch and breakfast every morning.

Emyr is keen for Iestyn to loose weight, and to lead a healthier life. He’s also willing to follow any plan given to Iestyn and to help him in any way possible. Iestyn can be quite emotional at times, when talking about his weight, but now, he’s more than ready to start his FFIT Cymru journey and to have help in knowing what to eat, and how to portion control.

Iestyn realises that he undid all of his hard work by putting the weight back on, and therefore is more determined than ever to get the best result possible from the program.

“I’m half the woman I was – and double the size”

Rhiannon Harrison is from Aberystwyth and lives with her partner, Gethin and their sons Harry and Iago (6 years old and 1 year old). She’ll be turning 30 next year, so therefore wants to try and loose weight and gain back the confidence she once had. At the moment, she is on maternity leave but usually is a substitute teacher. She also runs her own brownie company ‘Pwdin’.

She admits herself that she lacks in confidence and wants help with this, especially as she is keen to work as a full-time teacher as well as developping ‘Pwdin’ further. She also notices that her lack of confidence, very often stops her from socialising.

In the past Rhiannon used to love visiting the gym, but her lack of confidence has had a major effect on this. The only activities she does now are swimming classes with Iago and a few minutes of football with Harry in the garden.

Gethin is so proud that she applied for FFIT Cymru and that she’s putting herself first for once. Both Gethin and Rhiannon are determined to loose weight together and to show a good example of healthy living, to the boys. Rhiannon doesn’t want the children to grow up and feel how she does, so a change must be done now, whilst the boys are still young.

The main focus for Rhiannon is to get her confidence back, and to be the person she used to be. She knows that she’s lost herself and is fed-up of feeling like this.

By the end of the program she hopes that she will have lost weight and gained more confidence to go back to school in September as a full time teacher.