A woman who used to tip the scales at more than 25st said she feels 40 years younger after losing 13st 7lb.
Fiona Neilson, 64, from Dumfries, Scotland, used to suffer from heart failure and was unable to walk around her house without getting out of breath.
However, at 60, the retired head of business improvement decided she wanted a new lease of life and began to try and lose some weight.
She struggled until she found Slimming World in October 2021 – and by June 2022 she had lost 4st 7lb.
Fiona Neilson, 64, pictured here before losing weight. At her highest, she says she weighed more than 25 stone
Before: according to the 64-year-old (pictured pre-weight loss) carrying extra pounds meant she struggled to walk around her home without getting out of breath
After: Now Fiona has lost 13.5st, and has halved her dress size, going from a size 28 to a size 14
Now, she’s halved her dress size – shrinking from a size 28 to a size 14 – and says she’s never been happier.
Fiona said: ‘I’m 64 and I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life. I never thought I could lose weight and be slim and happy.
‘In 2018 when I got on my doctors scales, I weighed more than the scales could take – so know I weighed more than 25 stone.
‘It’s like I’ve lost 40 years and I’m young again, I can walk and join in with things and life is completely different.
‘Joining Slimming World meant it just clicked and it changed my life completely. Even if you don’t succeed the first time, keep going back and trying again.’
Fiona suffered from a slew of problems due to her weight, finding it difficult to even walk around her house without getting breathless.
Then in 2018, she was diagnosed with heart failure, and says the diagnosis came as a shock but acted as a ‘lightbulb moment’ for her.
‘In 2018 I was really seriously ill, I wasn’t far off being dead really,’ Fiona said. ‘I had heart failure but I didn’t realise and I was really shocked when I was diagnosed.
‘I couldn’t get my breath and was finding it increasingly difficult to walk around the house.
Fiona, pictured here before losing weight, says that she was ‘really seriously ill, I wasn’t far off being dead really’ due to carrying extra pounds
The retired head of business improvement says she initially started trying to lose weight after having a ‘lightbulb moment’, telling herself ‘if you don’t do something about this you’re going to be dead’
‘It was like a lightbulb moment – if you don’t do something about this you’re going to be dead.’
She began following a calorie deficient diet, where she ate less food than her body needed to function.
However, she struggled to follow the strict regime without any support and after losing some weight she gave up – piling back on 4st.
It wasn’t until a friend invited her to go along to a Slimming World meeting that she realised there was another way to lose the weight.
‘I decided I would try my hardest to lose some weight by trying to count calories on my own.
‘It was really demoralising doing it at home alone and depriving yourself of the things you really like.
Fiona, pictured here after shedding the stones, says that trying to lose weight alone was ‘demoralising’, which is why she joined Slimming World
Good health: Fiona says her health has improved dramatically since losing weight, and her heart failure has gone from being severe to moderate
‘A friend of mine said she was going to join Slimming World and before thinking I said I would come too. I didn’t think it would work but oh my goodness, what a difference.
‘Before I knew it I’d lost four stone and my BMI was below 30.’
She also quit drinking, as wine is high in calories and Fiona says she would prefer to eat good food instead.
‘My heart failure has gone from being severe to moderate and I’m only just in the heart failure range now – my health has improved so much.
‘It’s taken me four years altogether but as soon as I found the thing that worked for me it just dropped off.’