I worried how big my coffin would be, I then lost 11 stone in 18 months without fat jabs
It was when Alison Berry learned she was going to be a grandmother for the first time that she realised she had to lose weight.
For decades, the retired dinner lady from Hebburn, South Tyneside, had eaten what she wanted and failed to exercise.
“I had three under five and I lost no baby weight in between. I just felt content and carried on living my life,” says Alison.
“I had my family and everything was hunky dory, but my mum and dad would tell me I could do with losing a bit of weight. They were right, and I would try. I had a go at shakes, pills, hospital diets, crash diets, you know it. They did work, but then I would give up or get bored and then regain it.”
By the time she retired ten years ago she was 22 stone and addicted and eating poorly.
“As a teen I couldn’t swap clothes with my friends as I was bigger than them all,” says Alison, 66.
“I’m a real adrenaline junky and I love rides, but I remember having to get off one at a funfair because they couldn’t get the safety bar down. And my family would plan days out where I could sit down and rest. Options would be discarded if there was nowhere for me to sit down.”
On one painful occasion at a friend’s birthday buffet, she sat down with a tiny plate of food after hearing a stranger comment that they should get to the table before she hoovered up all the offerings.
At the time, Alison thought she couldn’t lose weight, but looking back now, she realises she just didn’t try hard enough.
“I used to have a full-fat can of coke with a handful of chocolate bars for breakfast and would graze all day at work, eating steamed pudding and custard,” she says.
“The only exercise I got was walking to the toilet or walking to the fridge. I was dying to be a grandmother, but when my daughter in law was due to go back to work after having Joseph and she asked if I would look after him for a couple of days a week, it was all I wanted to do.
“I wanted to take him to the park, take him swimming and get on the floor and play with him, and then I realised I could do none of these things because I couldn’t even bend over to clip my toenails.”
And Alison was in ill health. She’d been diagnosed with diverticulitis; a bowel issue that causes tummy pain, diarrhoea and or constipation.
“It was like a disability to me,” she says.
“I had to go to the loo 40 times a day and I ended up in hospital one morning. My kidneys were failing and the doctors in the hospital told me I was lucky I’d come in when I did because otherwise I wouldn’t be here any more.
“I spent three weeks in hospital and when I got back, I sat at home feeling sorry for myself, thinking that I was going to die, overweight and unhappy. I used to lie in bed at night crying, thinking how big my coffin would be and who would carry it.”
The brush with death was enough to make Alison realise she had a lot more life to live, and, in October 2014, she threw herself into dieting, joining Slimming World and getting off the bus early and walking increasingly long distances.
“At my first meeting the lady put me on the scales and told me to read out my weight. When I did, she told me: ‘That’s the last time you’ll ever say that,’ and something clicked.”
Alison’s initial scepticism soon faded away when she found she loved the community environment and encouragement she found at Slimming World and in her first week she lost five pounds.
Over the months the weight continued to fall off and Alison, who was still allowed little treats, was for the first time committed to her health.
Alison started to look so different that initially people were concerned that some undiagnosed illness was eating away at her and when she went to the doctor, he insisted she have a scan because he was worried she had cancer.
When it came back clear he told her: “Alison, congratulations. You’ve saved your own life.”
She lost 11 stone in 18 months, remains a steady 11 now, has bought a whole new wardrobe and is now living life to the fullest, fulfilling all her adrenaline junkie dreams; doing fire walks, zip lines and tree-top assault courses.
She is also off all her medication and her blood pressure, which was previously ‘ridiculously high’ is now normal.
“Losing the weight wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. And I was very determined,” says Alison.
“I used to be afraid of walking to the shop in case people laughed at me, but now I walk with my head held high with a big smile on my face. I am a lot healthier too and I manage my condition well, knowing what and what not to eat. I’m able to look after my grandchildren, which makes me so happy, and I feel amazing.”