Everyone at our Glasshoughton store is so proud of our community champion Sarah Gallagher who's gone on a life-changing fitness journey which has seen her quit smoking and drop three dress sizes in six months.
In February this year, 45-year-old Sarah decided to stop smoking and join Castleford Boxing Academy after bumping into its owner Roger Newbould at the store.
Since then she has completed the Yorkshire Peaks Challenge with colleagues to raise money for our Tickled Pink breast cancer charity appeal, a 5K Colour Run for the Prince of Wales's Hospice and, just recently, the Leeds 10K Abbey Dash which she did in a fantastic time of one hour and ten minutes.
Sarah, who's worked at the store for 10 years, said: "Stopping smoking and keeping fit has been totally life changing for me. It's changed the way I see things. Joining the boxing academy is the best thing I've ever done. I've never looked back. Before I joined I never did any running at all!
"From the age of 16 I used to smoke between 10 and 15 cigarettes a day, but now with me training about three to four times a week and keeping fit I've lost around three-and-a-half stone so I'm now 10 stone and feel so much healthier. I've gone down from a 16 dress size to a size 10. I feel totally different – I have so much energy now and feel so much more confident about myself.
"Before, I don't mind me telling you, I would often just sit in the sofa, watch TV and eat a packet of biscuits. Now I work out. I was really nervous at first thinking I would not be able to do it, but I just really love it. My daughters Ellie, 18, and Chloe, 13, are so proud of me. They hated me smoking."
She said her colleagues at Asda have also been really supportive. She said: "They can't believe how much weight I've lost. They all just think it's fantastic."
Sarah now plans to take part in the Pontefract Santa Dash in December and the Total Warrior event in York next year as well as taking up boxing!
She said: "I do like to set different challenges for myself now."