A SHRINKING great-granny lost almost half her body weight afterditching her junk food habit.<\/p>\n
Roberta Bellerby shed an impressive 8st with Slimming World after adoctor warned her that her diabetes was out of control.<\/p>\n
6<\/p>\n
The 59-year-old ditched her daily Jaffa Cakes and McDonalds learning to sprinkle stock cubes over vegetables to make them tastebetter.<\/p>\n
She dropped from a whopping 25st, a dress size 30, to a trim 12st4lbs, a size 12-14, and now says shes never felt better.<\/p>\n
Ive reversed my type 2 diabetes completely, she says. I dont takeany medication now at all.<\/p>\n
Its my 60th birthday in July and I feel healthier than ever. If I canswap Jaffa Cakes for Brussels sprouts, then anyone can!<\/p>\n
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Roberta, from Bangor in Northern Ireland, first started piling on thepounds when she quit smoking in 2004, aged 44.<\/p>\n
Whenever she felt the urge to light up a fag, she reached for a snackinstead.<\/p>\n
I decided enoughs enough and went cold turkey, she explains. Iwas on 60-a-day, puffing away like a chimney, lighting one off theend of the other.<\/p>\n
But they were starting to make me wheeze so I flushed my last packof Barclays down the loo.<\/p>\n
The toughest part was finding something to do with my hands. Soevery time I felt the urge to spark up, I popped a bag of cheese-and-onion crisps or opened a packet of Jaffa Cakes.<\/p>\n
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What is type 2 diabetes?<\/p>\n
Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of the disease accounting for between 85 and 95 per cent of all cases, according to Diabetes UK.<\/p>\n
It develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body are unable to produce enough insulin.<\/p>\n
It can also be triggered when the insulin that is produced doesnt work properly.<\/p>\n
Typically, people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from the age of40, butthere are some exceptions.<\/p>\n
In people from southern Asia the disease can appear as early as 25.<\/p>\n
And the condition is becoming more prevalent in children, teenagers of all ethnicities.<\/p>\n
Experts suggest the rising rates of type 2 diabetes is due to the obesity epidemic a key cause of type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n
Type 2 diabetes can be treated with drugs, and many people can reverse their condition by adopting a healthy lifestyle a healthy diet and exercise<\/p>\n
Robertas husband Dessie, now 64, was delighted. Not to mentiontheir five kids and 12 grandkids.<\/p>\n
But as her junk food habit grew, so did her waistline.<\/p>\n
Id cooked healthy dinners when my kids were growing up, buttheyd all left home so I couldnt be bothered, she remembers.<\/p>\n
I got up in the morning and headed straight to the local shop for sixsausage rolls in place of my usual pack of fags. And instead of chainsmoking, I ploughed through whole boxes of 12 Jaffa Cakes in onesitting.<\/p>\n
In the afternoons I kept myself going with a crisp sandwich on whitebread. Then Id order a chippy tea or Chinese for dinner mushypeas were the closest I came to a vegetable.<\/p>\n
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By 2015 Roberta was tipping the scales at 25st.<\/p>\n
At just 5ft 1ins, I was almost as wide as I was tall, and my 50GGboobs meant Id not seen my own feet for months, she laughs.<\/p>\n
In April 2017 Dessie was diagnosed with heart failure and Robertawas told hed need constant care. She started feeding him healthiermeals and in the process lost 4st herself.<\/p>\n
But the final straw didnt come until a visit to her consultant atBangor Hospital just before Christmas that year.<\/p>\n
She remembers: Id been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes severalyears earlier but the tablets I was taking were no match for all thesugar I ate.<\/p>\n
The doctor told me I going to have to start insulin injections. Shesaid they werent normally used for diabetes type 2 but I wasrunning out of options.<\/p>\n
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I was shocked because I hate needles. It was time to face facts. Myweight was shortening my life. I needed to go cold turkey on the junkfood just like Id done with the fags.<\/p>\n
Roberta joined a branch of Slimming World in nearby Comber inFebruary 2018, telling the consultant Eleanor Clarke that she felt tooshy to talk in group.<\/p>\n
I sat on a chair in the corner, arms folded, avoiding eye contact,she remembers.<\/p>\n
In Asda that evening I stacked my trolley with fruitsand vegetables, steering clear of the temptations of the biscuit aisle.<\/p>\n
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I hated veg but Eleanor had told me to try sprinkling them with astock cube to make them taste better.<\/p>\n
The following week Roberta had already lost 5lbs and after weigh-inshe found her voice, telling the other members about her junk foodban.<\/p>\n
Each week my weight melted away and I began to feel like a newwoman, she smiles. <\/p>\n
I couldnt wait to hop on the scales, celebrating each loss loudly with a lap of the room that left the other members in stitches.<\/p>\n
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And soon I loved my vegetables so much that I didnt need the stockcube sprinkle. In fact, I often curled up with a bowl of steamedBrussels sprouts as my late-night snack in front of the telly.<\/p>\n
Roberta, who now also has three great-grandchildren, started takingher dog, Gizmo, for longer walks, then began running her groupsBody Magic programme to share her exercise tips, like dancing whiledoing the washing up or cleaning the windows.<\/p>\n
After losing an incredible 8st, Robertas impressed diabetesconsultant took her off her medication completely.<\/p>\n
If I can do it anyone can, she grins. Slimming World has given mea whole new lease of life and I cant thank Eleanor enough for hersupport.<\/p>\n
To find your nearest Slimming World group call 0344 897 8000 or logon to http:\/\/www.slimmingworld.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excerpt from: A SHRINKING great-granny lost almost half her body weight afterditching her junk food habit. Continue reading
\nGreat gran sheds HALF her body weight and reverses deadly type 2 diabetes - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"