Brenda Shaw’s weight soared when she turned to food to cope after the tragedy of losing her husband and both her parents.
Her weight went up to 18st 4lb and she was a size 24.
But after joining WW – the new Weight Watchers – she switched to healthy eating and has lost 7st 4lb, dropping down to 11st and a size 14 making her feel much happier and confident.
Retired HR manager Brenda, 81, from Lasswade, Midlothian, suffered heartache when she lost three loved ones in three years.
Her husband Ian had a fatal heart attack at the wheel of his car on a motorway in 1992. It was just a year after her mum Ethel was killed crossing a road and her dad Tom had died beforehand of natural causes in 1989.
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Brenda’s weight went up and her job as an HR manager took her around the UK so she’d often buy convenience food from service stations on her travels which also added on the pounds.
“After I lost my husband, I had nothing to come home to,” she said. “I very rarely sat down for a meal at home. I was on the road all the time – eating on the hoof. I’d grab a chocolate bar or get a pizza in the office.
“Like most overweight people, our life revolves around food and, for me, if it wasn’t nailed down, it was for the mouth. I used to eat lots of cakes and sweets.”
But then Brenda was warned by her GP that her weight was putting her health at risk, she was borderline for diabetes and had to take action.
“It was discovered I had the start of Type 2 diabetes and was advised to lose weight or risk the possibility of having prescribed medication. It was the thought of medication which triggered me into joining WW,” she said.
“You never see yourself as fat when you look in the mirror – it’s only with something like what the doctor said that the realisation came I was fat.”
Brenda joined WW in 2016. And after two years and seven months she got to her goal of 11st 7lb. She’s since lost another half stone.
She said: “Throughout the time I have had a few wobbles, which I overcame with the help and guidance of a super WW wellness coach, Sandra McConachie, without whom I would have probably given up.
“Walking and climbing stairs was a great problem for me in my fat days and I used a walking cane. But I can’t remember the time I last used it since finding the new me.”
Now she has more energy to get active with her two great-grandkids.
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She said: “These days they both have horses and ponies and both compete in equestrian events and I go with them sometimes to cheer them on, which gives me the motivation to get out and about.
“I can’t say my journey has been without hiccups, but I have adapted well throughout and still attend my weekly workshop.
“Nothing is off limits on the WW Freestyle plan and I am a great believer in tracking, which helps enormously with your journey, and I love the app.
"I now eat lots of reduced fat foods, chicken and fat-free yoghurts.
“Losing the weight has given me my life back, more confidence, made me happier with myself, and clothes that fit that are now five times smaller than they used to be.
"My mobility is great compared to before I started my journey. I was unable to walk 100 yards without puffing and panting.
“If I can do it, then so can anybody else. It is without doubt a decision well-made and completely painless.”
● Visit www.weightwatchers.com/uk
