The McGillivray family’s life used to revolve around trips to the pub and pizza takeaways.

But when mum Sue lost her mum to diabetes it gave the family the push they needed to change their lives for good.

Sue, 51, dad Roy, 56, and sons Ben, 24, and Simon, 28, joined the gym together to embark on a whole family body transformation which has seen them shed a staggering six and a half stone between them in just six months and get gym-honed bodies they could only previously have dreamed of.

Out went the bacon and egg butties, boozy meals out and fat-laden takeaways.

In came healthy meals, gym sessions and family activity outings that upped their daily step counts.

In six months Sue has lost 3.5 stone, Roy, two stone, and Ben and Simon have lost a stone between them as well as building muscle.

And they all agree it has changed their lives for good – and brought them closer together as a family.

Housewife Sue says: “I had got to a point in my life where I needed to make some big changes. I had a family history of diabetes and that was something I saw for myself if I continued on the path I was on. I really felt that I needed to address my diet, my exercise.

“After the death of my mum, because it was related to diabetes, it was really important to get myself sorted and not go down that same track. The way that I have dealt with my grief, this has given me a real focus, to focus on myself and get myself healthy rather than focusing on grief.

“Being overweight made me feel that I had lost myself. I felt like a big person had eaten a small person. I started noticing results within two weeks. The weight started coming off, and once that happens you really get the motivation to keep going.”

The family joined the Ultimate Performance gym in Manchester where former Emmerdale actress trains with “Evil Steve” – the man she credits with giving her her killer body.

As well as gruelling workouts, the McGillivray family’s trainer Anthony Paulhe gave them nutrition plans and meal ideas which completed changed their attitude to food – and encouraged them to change their lifestyles for good.

Dad Roy, managing director of a dental firm, says: “My diet and lifestyle was probably pretty average. I was working hard. I wouldn’t eat breakfast in the morning, I would have something mid-miring at work, fatty food, bacon and egg sandwich, sometimes I would take lunch, sometimes I wouldn’t.

“In the evening I would find myself eating takeaway food because I was too tired to prepare something. You may go to the pub after work for tea, but then you would end up having two or three drinks, so then you were consuming more alcohol. That was the lifestyle.

“I never realised how unhealthy I was until I had my measurements done. I had never considered myself to be obese – but I was obese.

“That has got a bearing on your life. You reach a certain age, and if you allow your fitness levels to be poor and your diet to be unhealthy then you have to pay a price for that. If you look after yourself then age really is just a number.

“Why would you not want to look in the mirror and see that person looking back is fit and healthy?

“I did this for myself and my family. But when people start to notice your transformation and make comments, you feel 10ft tall. When you go shopping and buy new clothes and they fit nice you feel good about yourself.

“I think the life-changing thing for me personally is taking the numbers away. I feel no different today at 56 than I did at 36, I probably feel better than I did at 36. To be able to say that is incredible. I think it has given me longevity, energy and focus.”

Sue has lost so much weight that people who hadn’t seen her for a while barely recognised her.

And they all want to know the secret to her success.

“The difference in me now compared to how I first started, I feel like a different person.,” she says. “I feel so much more confident, I feel like I have got back to who I am. I feel great. When you get dressed and people give you compliments it is nice, but ultimately it is how you feel in yourself, being able to look in the mirror and liking what you see. I am happy.”

And sons Ben and Simon are so proud of the changes their parents have made – and say training together brought out their competitive streaks and helped keep them all on track.

Simon explains: “There has been competitiveness between us which I think gives you additional motivation. We have always done things together as a family but tow we have found healthier things to do – go for a healthy meal, or go bowling together. We still have quality time, but we make healthier choices.

“Training together as a family has definitely brought us closer together. We have supported each other, there have been challenges along the way but we kept each other on track.

“The change in my mum has been unbelievable. I hadn’t realised how down she was. But the change in her over the course of the last six months has been incredible. I look at how she is now – she is enjoying life and that rubs off on the rest of the family.”

For more information on Ultimate Performance visit upfitness.co.uk

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