A grandmother from Newcastle has told of her incredible weight loss journey after hitting 26 stone.

Dawn Lambert said she wouldn’t have been alive for the birth of her grandchildren if she hadn’t started to lose weight.

She began her weight loss journey with Swimming World in 2007 and hit her first weight loss target by losing nine stone in 2014.

Ms Lambert, aged 52, has continued to lose weight for the past eight years and has managed to lose a further eight-stone, meaning she has now lost 17 stone.

At 26 stone, Ms Lambert’s exacerbated her health problems, including dangerous blood poising following surgery.

The Northern Echo: Dawn LambertDawn Lambert

At her heaviest her health issues included asthma, blood clots in her legs and lungs, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, lipoedema, lymphedema, osteoarthritis and a sluggish bowel, meaning she was forced to take laxatives.

She also suffered a serious case of septicaemia following an operation to repair her bowel and suffers with chronic fatigue syndrome following the surgery.

Ms Lambert said she never felt like she ate that much but was stuck “in an overeat-and-restrict cycle” which saw her weight go up and up.

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She said: “My asthma was out of control most days and I couldn’t even get up my stairs to bed without using my inhaler.  

“I knew without losing weight my health issues would continue to get worse.”

“After a period of ill health, I was told by a liver surgeon that I had PBC antibodies – indicating a type of liver disease that can eventually lead to liver failure – and needed to lose weight to give me a better life expectancy.”

Ms Lambert said the diagnosis really scared her and she wanted to live long enough to see her son get married and future grandchildren grow old.

She added: “I had to change, or I wasn’t going to be around – and that was a terrifying thought.”

The Northern Echo: Dawn LambertDawn Lambert

Following a recommendation from her brother, Ms Lambert decided to try Slimming World where she started a food plan.

Members of this plan can enjoy a wide range of healthy everyday foods that are lower in energy density such as lean meat and poultry, fat free dairy, pasta, rice and grains, and fruit and veg, to satisfy their appetite.

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Following her weight loss, Ms Lambert said losing weight gave her more confidence.

She added: “Losing weight gave me the confidence to take up walking and join a gym, which is something I never could have imagined before.

“Unfortunately, I’m not currently able to exercise, though I know that my weight loss has had a profound impact on my overall fitness.”

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