GLYN Smith is celebrating after losing one stone 8lbs and reducing his diabetes symptoms.

Glyn’s inspirational story supports research revealing that losing weight with Slimming World is successful in supporting patients who have type 2 diabetes to lose weight and manage their glucose control.

Glyn who attends an Inverclyde Slimming World group, joined in April 2019. He says: “The final straw was when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and it gave me a wakeup call. I had never really realised that my weight had crept up and that my eating habits weren’t as good as they should be.

“Being overweight impacted on so many aspects of my life and I couldn’t do simple everyday tasks without feeling tired and out of breath. I always felt like I was lacking energy.

Glyn decided to join his local Slimming World group with this wife. He says: “It was daunting walking into the group for the first time. I needn’t have worried though, everyone there was so friendly especially my Consultant Susan. The group were so welcoming too.

“Since then my fellow members have become real friends and I honestly don’t think I could have done it without their support each week. They helped me with recipes and tips and if I was ever struggling, they were always there to remind me why I’d wanted to lose weight in the first place and how far I’d come since first stepping through the doors.”

Glyn followed the Slimming World’s Food Optimising eating plan and started cooking healthy meals from scratch. He swapped shop bought meals for favourites such as salmon, tender stem broccoli and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. He says: “People think slimming means going hungry, yet it’s not like that at all with this healthy eating plan. I love food and it’s never once felt like I was on ‘a diet’ – in fact, people are always surprised at how much food I have on my plate and can’t believe I’m losing weight eating so much delicious food and without ever feeling hungry. I can tailor the plan to fit my dietary needs and I can do this with support from my wife - we love cooking together now and regularly use the Slimming World recipe books.

“This means I still enjoy all my favourite meals like burgers and chips and roast dinners. My favourite book is the little book of sauces - I’ve just learned how to make small changes like eating lots of vegetables, using lean meat or cooking with low calorie spray instead of oil or butter.”

Today Glyn’s lost a total of 1stone 8lb and gone from is now a Target member in his group and is in a healthy weight range. He’s also more active nowadays and regularly walks. Glyn finds that he can now walk much further than before and says he feels great after he has finished his walk/

“Thanks to the changes I’ve made my health has improved dramatically and the doctor says that if my blood sugar levels remain the same, I will be taken off the diabetic register in the next 12 months!”

Susan who runs the Inverclyde Slimming World group, says: “We know the obesity crisis is a ticking timebomb, and type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity too. We believe the support you get from being in a warm, empowering group environment is key to helping you eat more healthily and becoming more active too.

“The changes we’ve seen in Glyn are incredible. I hope his success will inspire other people in Inverclyde who’d like to lose weight and improve their health by forming new lifestyle habits and become happier to take action.”

For more information, motivation and recipe ideas visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk.