A mum was unrecognisable to her family after she lost a staggering seven stone. Jean Price managed to drop seven dress sizes in just a year from a size 26 to a size 12.
Her transformation was that great her own auntie failed to recognise her as she walked past. The 53-year-old turned to food for comfort while caring for her dad and struggling with her own health due to suffering with a lung condition known as Bronchiectasis.
She was then diagnosed with diabetes however things came to a head for Jean when her brother died from complications relating to the same condition.
Jean, from Leasowe, Wirral, said: "Having lost my brother to complications of type 2 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."
The mum-of-four was prescribed weight loss tablets by her doctor and after losing weight from "all the diets out there" she would put it all back on again and more, reports the LiverpoolECHO.
"I just couldn’t stick to them and was always hungry," Jean 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 she was put on a weight list for surgery, Jean had a fall outside her own front door and couldn't get back up again, she said: "I said to my friend 'I can't do this anymore. I've got to do something.
"She said 'I've been to Slimming World and I know it works, let's do it together' - and that's when it happened in June 2016."
After joining together, Jean lost nearly five stone and was in a position to turn down the weight loss surgery she'd originally been referred for. She then went on to lose 7st 7lbs in the space of 13 months and now runs her own Slimming World group on Saturday mornings at Moreton Community Centre.
Jean said: "Just before I got to target in July 2017, my dad was poorly in hospital and just before he passed away my auntie, who works in the hospital, walked past me and she didn't recognise me at all."
Jean has gotten to do things she's never done before such as a skydive and dancing with the Tiger Lily Cabaret Fitness group. As a Slimming World consultant, she now gets to help others and wants people to know about the 12 week referral scheme where you can receive group membership through your GP for free.
Jean said: "I know the difference Slimming World can make. It literally saved my life. Whether you've got a stone to lose, or like me, eight stone to lose, I know this is the healthiest way to do it because I've tried all different [diets], I really have.
"All the diets out there I've tried... and 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.
"The support everyone can have through Slimming World, 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."
