'I'm using my new found love of exercise to enter the Bupa Great North 10K Run.'

I have lost five stone12 pounds in 20 months with Slimming World at the time of writing this in June 2012.

I am a Type 2 diabetic, diagnosed in July 2006. In January 2007 I was put onto insulin injections four times a day and my tablets were all increased. I had high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol and high triglyceride levels. My kidneys were also showing signs of becoming damaged.

After the weight I have lost so far I have now been able to come off the insulin injections, off the tablets for my triglycerides and the tablets I am on for my blood pressure have been halved.

New-found energy

I am using my new-found energy and lust for life to enter the Bupa Great North 10K Run and I am raising money for Diabetes UK by doing this event on 22 July 2012.
 
Before starting Slimming World in October 2010 I was miserable on the inside and I was morbidly obese on the outside. I hid how I felt behind fake smiles. I felt worthless, ugly, disgusting, a waste of space and I would cry myself to sleep some nights thinking: Why, why have you done this to yourself and why bother waking up tomorrow?

I was trapped in a never-ending cycle of emotional eating. I had zero confidence and would walk around with my head down. I joined my local Slimming World group with my dad in Dunston, which is run by Sarah Haviland-Moir. While I was nervous about going I knew I wasn't alone.

Not alone

After speaking to Sarah, she fired me up for a fab first week and I lost two pounds. It wasn't as much as others in the group had lost in their first week, but it was going in the right direction and I didn't feel hungry or deprived once.

Sarah and the members in the group are always supportive and have become like an extended family. We use Facebook through the week to stay in touch and help each other out. Sarah is always there no matter what. Whenever I've struggled she's always been a text away and she has even met me outside of the group for chats to help me. Without the amazing consultant that Sarah is and without the fabulous support you get from everyone in the group, it would have been a lot harder.

Also there are amazing groups on Facebook with Slimming World members from around the country, which I use. They are an amazing support network, so much so that I feel I know them and count them as friends I can hopefully meet one day. Sarah runs four groups every Thursday, but we are all in it together and everyone from all four groups keeps in touch and help each other out.

The weight was coming off and by the middle of December 2011. I had lost three stone seven pounds, just in time for the work Christmas party. I felt great and I was getting loads of compliments, which only boosted me even more.

Since January this year, I have lost another two stone five pounds and I am almost in reach of my target - which I am aiming to achieve by October for my two-year Slimming World anniversary.

Falling in love with exercise

I started exercising in February this year and have fallen in love with it. It is no longer a swear word in our house. I exercise five times a week and it makes me feel great. It's true what they say about endorphins being released because as soon as I start exercising I feel awake and full of energy. I can now walk up stairs without getting out of breath, I don't mind the summer because I don't sweat more than the average person and I actually have confidence.

My emotions no longer dictate what I eat, I reach for the healthy foods instead of the junk foods. Don't get me wrong, I still have my treats but they're within Slimming World's plan, nothing is forbidden. I think I eat just as much now as I ever did.

I have gone from a 48-inch waist to a 36-inch waist and I have gone from size 3XL/4XL tops to L/XL tops. I can now shop in normal places instead of having to go to specialist shops to get clothes that fit.

Now my lifestyle changes are really taking effect on the inside as well as the outside. After five-and-a-half years of being on four injections of insulin, I have now been taken off the insulin, as well as having my blood pressure tablets halved and being taken off Fenofibrate for my triglyceride count.

I rarely have hypos and my blood sugars are almost always stable. In fact, my diabetes doctors said they would allow my blood test results to be a little worse than they were. My cholesterol is now normal and my blood pressure and my triglyceride count is better than normal. My kidneys also now show no signs of damage.

Looking forward to the future

I am always full of energy and I am looking forward to the future. Sarah Haviland-Moir has not only helped extend my life, but she and the other members of Slimming World have helped save my life. The support groups on Facebook are amazing and are a great support network through the week, also. In fact,

I have made friends with people from those groups that I haven't met yet, but feel like I know them so well. I tried everything, calorie counting, dieticians, portion control, Weight Watchers, but nothing worked for me until Slimming World. In fact, the dieticians told me I would be obese forever and my GP wouldn't refer me to Slimming World as he said it wasn't suitable for diabetics, yet my diabetes doctors are over the moon with my success. To think, if I had listened to the dieticians and my GP I would still be battling with my weight and getting nowhere.

I'm using my new-found energy and love of exercise to enter the Bupa Great North 10K Run on 22 July 2012. I am raising money for Diabetes UK to celebrate how far I have come. For the first time I feel like I can achieve what I want.

If you would like to, you can text the code: BNWI71 and the amount you would like to sponsor me for to 70070, alternatively you can visit my just giving page.

Words by Adam