TWO courageous Swindonians have spoken of their wish to push themselves to the limit in a life-changing fitness programme.

For the past few weeks, Bill Hogg and Kelly Loftus have been taking part in the Swindon Biggest Loser, a gruelling six-week course that sees participants lose weight and acquire a brand new lease of life.

Run by popular life coaches Ricardo DeFazio, Siobhan O’Connell and Richard Jones, the programme involves pushing 13 brave people to their physical and mental limits. It incorporates physical exercise, nutritional coaching and meditation.

Mother-of-two Kelly, 38, from Abbey Meads, was delighted to be one of the 13 who beat more than 300 applicants for a place.

She said: “It’s not just about losing weight, I did it for the whole package. Not just for the fitness and the diet plan, but for the meditation as well. I couldn’t believe it when I found out I’d been selected, I was absolutely ecstatic. It makes me feel good that there was something in my application that stood out.

“I wanted to do it for my two children who are at an impressionable age. If I don’t make the right choices, I can’t expect them to either.”

Kelly has already started to feel the intensity.

“Last week I ran three miles with a tyre on my shoulders, which was very hard, but I just had to keep going,” she said.

“The trainers are absolutely amazing. They push you and really make you work hard. But I feel my mind has changed for the better already. I have been absolutely buzzing, I feel it is really starting to click. I don’t want it to stop and I’m certainly going to carry it on afterwards.”

Thirty-five-year-old Bill Hogg, from Stratton, heard he had been selected for the course on the same day his doctor told him he had type two diabetes.

Father-of two Bill, who weighed in at 24 stone in early January, is hoping to lose almost three stone by the end of the six-weeks.

He said: “Just before I signed up, I was the biggest I have ever been and I was looking for that certain spark to try to change things.

“I wish I was an ideal weight and I didn’t have to do this, but I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity and I am completely committed to the course.”

Bill is concerned about the consequences of his health issues, especially his weight, and what that might mean for his family.

He said: “After the first couple of days, I was broken when I was driving home in the car. I burst into tears because I was worried that I might not live long enough to see my children grow up.”

He has so far found the intense physical challenges quite tough going, but he remains strong willed. So much so that he has signed up for the Swindon Half Marathon later this year.