A 77-year-old great gran has told how she shed seven stone by changing just one lifestyle habit.
Angela Dimmer, from Bristol, weighed 17st 2lbs at her heaviest following the loss of her beloved husband John in 2007. She realised then, it was time for her to make a change.
After enjoying a few glasses of wine in the evenings, her heath began to decline rapidly and she was diagnosed with diabetes. At one point, the gran even struggled to walk.
Now, at a healthier weight of 11st 2lbs, she has had a new lease of life thanks to a new diet where she has cut out the wine and managed to reverse her diabetes, reports the Mirror.
She said: "I've always been on the bigger side, but when I lost my husband, the weight kept creeping up on me. I started to realise I couldn't walk. I was always in pain, and I couldn't stand for very long. I even ended up being diagnosed with diabetes.
"I used to enjoy a drink. Red and white wine was my favourite. I never drank on Mondays, because they say you should always have a dry day, but I'd enjoy a few glasses of wine every other day of the week, and perhaps more during the weekends.
"I'd probably have about four bottles of wine a week. I didn't eat particularly unhealthy foods, but I would have large portions and would treat myself to my favourite takeaways, including fish and chips and McDonald's breakfasts. At my biggest, I had no self-esteem, and I would buy big clothes to try and hide my figure.
"I hated going into shops and not knowing if anything would fit me. I was a size 22 to 24, and it was hard to find anything that I liked.
"I liked buying bedding rather than clothes, because at least I knew that was going to fit. In the end, I realised it was about time that I did something about my weight once and for all.
"I also decided that I had to lose weight for an upcoming holiday to Dubai because I wanted to be able to put the tray down without my belly getting in the way. I’d lost three stone by the time I went in November, after starting my weight loss plan in June.
"At my age, it was my last attempt at trying to lose weight, so I decided I would try the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan."
Within the first week of her diet, Angela lost a whopping 7.5lbs, and the pounds kept dropping off. She says that it was a huge incentive to see her dress size and weight on the scales decrease.
Angela added: "Luckily, I have good willpower. So when I say I am going to do something, I just do it, so this means that I found it easy to stick to my plan. I've given up alcohol and no longer eat potatoes or drink milk to try and keep me on plan. The diet has totally changed my life.
"I can now do a four-mile walk three times a week, and I have joined a gym where I go to aqua fit classes and circuit training classes. I'd never done this before. I can't sit down for too long now because I feel guilty and I like to be out walking.
"It's wonderful to be able to walk into clothes shops and buy what I like. I am now wearing size 12s, which I never imagined would be possible. I wear things that I never would have chosen before, and it was so fun buying myself a whole new wardrobe. I went from buying lots of bedding to buying myself lots of clothes.
"I think it is amazing that I have been able to do this at this stage of my life. I did it for different reasons, such as my health rather than aesthetics, but the way my body looks now is a bonus. I'm so much more active now and I am so happy I have been able to reverse my diabetes."
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