A SHRINKING great-granny lost almost half her body weight afterditching her junk food habit.

Roberta Bellerby shed an impressive 8st with Slimming World after adoctor warned her that her diabetes was out of control.

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The 59-year-old ditched her daily Jaffa Cakes and McDonalds learning to sprinkle stock cubes over vegetables to make them tastebetter.

She dropped from a whopping 25st, a dress size 30, to a trim 12st4lbs, a size 12-14, and now says shes never felt better.

Ive reversed my type 2 diabetes completely, she says. I dont takeany medication now at all.

Its my 60th birthday in July and I feel healthier than ever. If I canswap Jaffa Cakes for Brussels sprouts, then anyone can!

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Roberta, from Bangor in Northern Ireland, first started piling on thepounds when she quit smoking in 2004, aged 44.

Whenever she felt the urge to light up a fag, she reached for a snackinstead.

I decided enoughs enough and went cold turkey, she explains. Iwas on 60-a-day, puffing away like a chimney, lighting one off theend of the other.

But they were starting to make me wheeze so I flushed my last packof Barclays down the loo.

The toughest part was finding something to do with my hands. Soevery time I felt the urge to spark up, I popped a bag of cheese-and-onion crisps or opened a packet of Jaffa Cakes.

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What is type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of the disease accounting for between 85 and 95 per cent of all cases, according to Diabetes UK.

It develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body are unable to produce enough insulin.

It can also be triggered when the insulin that is produced doesnt work properly.

Typically, people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from the age of40, butthere are some exceptions.

In people from southern Asia the disease can appear as early as 25.

And the condition is becoming more prevalent in children, teenagers of all ethnicities.

Experts suggest the rising rates of type 2 diabetes is due to the obesity epidemic a key cause of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes can be treated with drugs, and many people can reverse their condition by adopting a healthy lifestyle a healthy diet and exercise

Robertas husband Dessie, now 64, was delighted. Not to mentiontheir five kids and 12 grandkids.

But as her junk food habit grew, so did her waistline.

Id cooked healthy dinners when my kids were growing up, buttheyd all left home so I couldnt be bothered, she remembers.

I got up in the morning and headed straight to the local shop for sixsausage rolls in place of my usual pack of fags. And instead of chainsmoking, I ploughed through whole boxes of 12 Jaffa Cakes in onesitting.

In the afternoons I kept myself going with a crisp sandwich on whitebread. Then Id order a chippy tea or Chinese for dinner mushypeas were the closest I came to a vegetable.

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By 2015 Roberta was tipping the scales at 25st.

At just 5ft 1ins, I was almost as wide as I was tall, and my 50GGboobs meant Id not seen my own feet for months, she laughs.

In April 2017 Dessie was diagnosed with heart failure and Robertawas told hed need constant care. She started feeding him healthiermeals and in the process lost 4st herself.

But the final straw didnt come until a visit to her consultant atBangor Hospital just before Christmas that year.

She remembers: Id been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes severalyears earlier but the tablets I was taking were no match for all thesugar I ate.

The doctor told me I going to have to start insulin injections. Shesaid they werent normally used for diabetes type 2 but I wasrunning out of options.

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I was shocked because I hate needles. It was time to face facts. Myweight was shortening my life. I needed to go cold turkey on the junkfood just like Id done with the fags.

Roberta joined a branch of Slimming World in nearby Comber inFebruary 2018, telling the consultant Eleanor Clarke that she felt tooshy to talk in group.

I sat on a chair in the corner, arms folded, avoiding eye contact,she remembers.

In Asda that evening I stacked my trolley with fruitsand vegetables, steering clear of the temptations of the biscuit aisle.

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I hated veg but Eleanor had told me to try sprinkling them with astock cube to make them taste better.

The following week Roberta had already lost 5lbs and after weigh-inshe found her voice, telling the other members about her junk foodban.

Each week my weight melted away and I began to feel like a newwoman, she smiles.

I couldnt wait to hop on the scales, celebrating each loss loudly with a lap of the room that left the other members in stitches.

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And soon I loved my vegetables so much that I didnt need the stockcube sprinkle. In fact, I often curled up with a bowl of steamedBrussels sprouts as my late-night snack in front of the telly.

Roberta, who now also has three great-grandchildren, started takingher dog, Gizmo, for longer walks, then began running her groupsBody Magic programme to share her exercise tips, like dancing whiledoing the washing up or cleaning the windows.

After losing an incredible 8st, Robertas impressed diabetesconsultant took her off her medication completely.

If I can do it anyone can, she grins. Slimming World has given mea whole new lease of life and I cant thank Eleanor enough for hersupport.

To find your nearest Slimming World group call 0344 897 8000 or logon to http://www.slimmingworld.co.uk

Excerpt from:
Great gran sheds HALF her body weight and reverses deadly type 2 diabetes - The Sun