Grandmother joins Cramlington weight loss group and loses three-and-a-half stone

Loraine Routledge decided to lose weight in a bid to improve her poor health.

Changes to her diet helped to ease the severe pain caused by arthritis and a heart condition, and now she no longer requires walking aids.

Loraine said: “I rarely ate chocolate or drank, and only had a takeaway now and again, but I had done it all in the distant past so the damage was done.

“It all made sense when I was shown where the extra calories came from in oils, butter. and sauces, and I realised I was swapping one bad food item for worse ones.

“Now I eat a varied diet with heaps of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish, and they are not all fried in heaps of oil now.

“I am much more aware of what I am eating and I am learning all the time.”

After struggling to stick to diets herself, the retiree’s husband convinced her to join a Slimming World group in Cramlington, which she says has made the difference.

She said: “I was terrified on my first night, nervously entering with my walking frame, but by the end of the session I was relaxed and felt amongst friends.

“They were all there for the same reason as me so no one judged me. Everyone is there for the same goal.

“It is a welcoming place where dreams literally can come true. If I can do it, anyone can. That was where I stepped into my future.”

The grandmother-of-six has now returned her mobility aids as a result of her healthier lifestyle.

She said: “I did not think I would ever be without walking aids and the mobility thing was a huge issue for me.

“I just do not use them anymore and I was over the moon when I could send them back.

“I feel so different now and I am able to do so much more. As I lose more weight that will only improve and it is absolutely life changing.”