Just a few years ago, Lesley Hutchinson was worried her partner Chris Coulter would die in his sleep because of severe breathing problems brought on by his excess weight. Now the couple, from Newcastle upon Tyne, have shed nearly 22 stone between them – with Chris losing more than half his body weight – and have compiled a 'slim list' of things they plan to do to celebrate their amazing achievement. Tipping the scales at 29st 5lbs Chris, 51, suffered with sleep apnoea, which regularly saw him stop breathing in his sleep, and 55-year-old Lesley feared one day he might not wake up. Scroll down for video . Lesley used to fear her partner Chris would die in his sleep due to excessive weight, but the couple went on to lose 22 stone between them . Chris and Lesley Hutchinson pose with lifesize cut outs showcasing how much weight they have each lost . And Lesley weighed 15st 4.5lbs and wore a dress size 22. Since joining Slimming World and losing a combined weight of 21st 11lbs, the pair have been named as the organisation's Couple of the Year 2015. Chris and Lesley, who have been together for 25 years, began to have weight problems around 15 years ago. Chris said: 'We stopped smoking and replaced cigarettes with snacks like crisps, sandwiches and pies. Around the same time we got a second car so didn't need to walk places anymore. 'Then when the kids – I have two daughters and Lesley has one daughter from previous relationships – left home we fell into the habit of eating more takeaways and washing them down with a bottle of wine.' A low point: Chris was left mortified after a wooden chair collapsed underneath him at a family barbecue. At that point, he decided that losing weight was his only option . The couple, pictured before their weightloss, began to have weight problems around 15 years ago when they began to replace cigarettes with snacks . However things changed when, in summer 2010, Chris was left mortified after a wooden chair collapsed beneath him at a family barbecue. The garden furniture broke into pieces and cut into Chris' leg, which became infected with cellulitis and worsened and ulcerated because of his weight. Soon after, Chris suffered further embarrassment when he was unable to fit into a hotel shower and the couple had to request a new room. So when his doctor, who was a Slimming World member herself, recommended Chris join his local group in May 2011, he decided losing weight was his only option. Chris, pictured before his weight loss, used to eat 3 or 4 slices of toast with butter or a sausage sandwich with tomato sauce just for breakfast . Chris, pictured at 29st 5lbs on a camping holiday, regularly stopped breathing in his sleep . Chris said: 'My leg was in a real mess and it was getting to the point where they didn't know what else to do, I started to worry that I might actually lose my leg. 'I knew I had to do something about my weight. I was embarrassed and worried because I thought I'd be the only man in a roomful of women, so Lesley agreed to come with me. 'As soon as we walked through the doors though, we were warmly welcomed and made to feel comfortable – it was nothing like we'd expected. Now I can't wait to go to group every week.' Lesley lost 4st 9lbs, going from 15st 4.5lbs to 10st 9.5lbs, and dropped from a dress size 22 to a 12 . Chris and Lesley, holding an old pair of Chris's jeans - he has since dropped 32 inches from his waist . The pair began following Slimming World's Food Optimising programme and swapped their regular takeaways for healthy home-cooked meals, including their favourite Friday night dinner of homemade cheese burgers and Slimming World-style chips (baked in the oven). In his first week Chris lost 8.5lbs and since then he has gone on to lose a total of 17st 2lbs, going from 29st 5lbs to 12st 3lbs, and dropped 32 inches from his waist. His health problems are gone and he's discovered a passion for healthy eating: 'Our tastes have changed completely since we started slimming. 'We don't even want the foods we used to enjoy because the meals that we make at home are so much nicer. The pair joined Slimming World's programme and swapped their unhealthy diets for home-cooked meals. Chris shed a total of 17st 2lb and Lesley lost 4st 9lbs . 'I've learned so much about healthy eating, and I wanted to share that so I'm in the process of setting up a healthy catering company.' Meanwhile Lesley, who works for a children's charity, has lost 4st 9lbs, going from 15st 4.5lbs to 10st 9.5lbs, and dropped from a dress size 22 to a 12 to fit into her first pair of jeans for more than 20 years. Breakfast: 3 or 4 slices of toast with butter or a sausage sandwich with tomato sauce . Lunch: Pasties, pies or sandwiches with either crisps or chips . Dinner: Spaghetti bolognese with cheese on top and a garlic bread baguette, a takeaway from the local chip shop or a pizza . Snacks: Crisps, sandwiches, cheese and biscuits, pasties . She says the couple are much more active thanks to their weight loss, especially with their four grandchildren: 'We go camping in Wales every year. Before we used to just sit in our extra-large camping chairs and watch the kids running around. 'Now we're running around with them, swimming with them, and it's much more fun. It's really important to us because you don't get those times back.' Chris and Lesley are also keen walkers and have climbed the highest peak in Mid Wales twice, and Chris enjoys cycling and finds a round of golf much easier nowadays. In fact, the pair have so much more energy that they decided to compile a 'slim list' of places they'd like to visit and things they'd like to do minus their extra 21st 11lbs, which includes travelling to Paris, Venice and Dublin and re-visiting the Royal Albert Hall so that they can fit comfortably into the seats. Lesley says: 'We'd never been abroad as a couple, we wouldn't have dreamed of trying to go on a plane because Chris would never have fit into the seats. Chris, pictured before his weight loss, said he would dine on spaghetti bolognese with cheese on top and a garlic bread baguette, a takeaway from the local chip shop or a pizza for dinner . At his heaviest, 51-year-old Chris was 29st 5lb, but went on to lose more than half his original body weight (right). He now tips the scales at 12 stone 3lb . 'Now we've been to Venice and to Paris and we had a brilliant time. It's like a whole new world has opened up for us. 'Before we lost weight we didn't have a life, we just sat around the house. We didn't really go anywhere or do anything, we didn't enjoy ourselves. Now things are completely different. Breakfast: Porridge with berries or a full English breakfast (grilled instead of fried) Mid-morning: A piece of fresh fruit . Lunch: Homemade soup or jacket potato topped with beans and salad . Mid-afternoon: A fat-free yogurt and another piece of fruit . Dinner: Homemade cheese burger with Slimming World-style chips (baked in the oven), peas and pickles or a homemade curry with rice. Snacks: Fresh fruit, fat-free yogurts, homemade frittata, scotch eggs and onion bhajis . 'My only regret is that we didn't do something sooner. I'd been worried about Chris' health for a long time and I dread to think how bad it might have got, but I didn't say anything because I thought it was kinder not to upset him. 'I was completely in denial about my own weight too, but when I look back I realise how unhappy I was. 'I would hide behind big baggy clothes and always turned down invitations to parties and events. We both wish we'd been honest with ourselves and with each other. 'We've done it now though, and the only way is forward – after all, we've got to make up for all the things we missed out on in our 30s and 40s.' Chris says: 'While it's obviously not why we joined Slimming World in the first place, it's amazing to be the Couple of the Year. 'Going on this journey together has been so important because it's meant we've had the other person to bounce ideas off and support from each other, as well as from our Consultant Adam and the rest of the group. 'I couldn't be more proud of Lesley and of myself, too.'
Lesley Hutchinson and Chris Coulter enjoyed diet of pasties and pizza . Chris, 51, tipped the scales at 29st 5lb and Lesley, 55, at 15st 4lb . And Lesley weighed 15st 4.5lbs and wore a dress size 22 . Joined Slimming World and Chris lost more than half his body weight . H ave climbed highest peak in Mid Wales twice and visited Paris, Venice .