A mum lost a staggering seven stone after being diagnosed with a devastating condition that killed her brother.
Jean Price, 53, dropped seven dress sizes – from a size 26 to 12 – leaving her family unable to recognise her.
Her weight had spiralled while caring for her dad, and struggling with her own health battling a lung condition known as Bronchiectasis.
She was later diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, after her brother died from complications related to the same illness.
The mum-of-four underwent the dramatic transformation in just over a year after discovering she had the disease, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Jean, from Wirral, Merseyside, said: "Having lost my brother to complications of type two diabetes when he was just 50 years old, it became vital to me and my family that I got my own diabetes and weight under control.
"Just before I got to target, my dad was poorly in hospital.
"And just before he passed away, my auntie who works at the hospital, walked past me and she didn't recognise me at all."
Jean said she had tried "all the diets out there" in the past and was even prescribed weight loss tablets by her doctor.
But after managing to lose weight, she would put it all back on in the end.
"I just couldn’t stick to them and was always hungry," she said.
"I blamed inactivity due to my poor health and the daily prescription steroids I need to take and I pretty much gave up on myself. I eventually reached the point of being referred by my doctor for bariatric surgery."
After being put on a waiting list for weight loss surgery, Jean had a fall outside her own front door and couldn't get back up again.
"It was just the fact I was so overweight, I couldn't get back up and I said to my friend 'I can't do this anymore. I've got to do something'," she said.
Jean's friend recommended Slimming World and the pair attended a meeting together in June 2016.
Less than six months later, she had lost almost five stone and was able to turn down the weight loss surgery she had originally been referred for.
In the space of 13 months, she had lost 7st 7lbs and went on to do things she had never dreamed of, such as skydiving and dancing on stage.
Now she is determined to help others achieve their goals and runs her own Slimming World group in Moreton.
"I know the difference Slimming World can make. It literally saved my life," she said.
"Whether you've got 1st to lose, or like me 8st to lose, I know this is the healthiest way to do it because I've tried all different diets, I really have.
"When you're cutting food out, that's when you can't sustain it. With Slimming World you don't cut food out. It's a sustainable lifestyle change."
She added: "The support everyone can have I believe is absolutely essential. It’s not just eating the right foods, during IMAGE therapy each week.
"You also get help with the psychology of losing weight, which has been pivotal to my success."
