A mum-of-four from Kesgrave has turned her life around as she feared she wouldn’t be around for her children after doctors said she was borderline morbidly obese.

%image(15166002, type="article-full", alt="Gaynor Vincent reached her 7.5 stone weightloss target in lockdown. Picture: GAYNOR VINCENT")

Gaynor Vincent has lost 7.5 stone since joining Slimming World 13 months ago and says she “has never felt better”.

The mum, who is in her 50s, described herself as being a “comfort eater” who liked her chocolate, but since changing her lifestyle and outlook on food she “hasn’t looked back”.

Before joining the weight loss group, Gaynor weighed 18st 2lbs and had been told by doctors that her BMI was bordering on morbidly obese.

She said: “I got to the point where I thought if I am not careful I am not going to be around long enough to care for my children and watch them grow up.

%image(15166003, type="article-full", alt="Before joining Slimming World Gaynor's BMI was high and she was told she was borderline morbidly obese. Picture: GAYNOR VINCENT")

“I also wanted to show my kids a healthy lifestyle so they wouldn’t fall into bad habits like I did.”

Now, Gaynor weighs a healthy 10st 5lbs and is hoping to reach her goal of 10st in the next few months. She says she is not rushing to get there and is focussing on not gaining any weight in lockdown.

“I don’t get out as much because of the lockdown,” explained Gaynor. “So my realistic goal is to maintain my weight, but I’ve actually surprised myself and have lost around 1/2lb per week.”

Gaynor said that being in lockdown has posed some challenges as she is home schooling her four children and has less time than before, and has also found it more difficult to get the foods she wants.

%image(15166004, type="article-full", alt="Gaynor Vincent says she has "never looked back" since joining Slimming World and turning her health around. Picture: GAYNOR VINCENT")

Despite this, Gaynor has started running and enjoys getting out on her daily walk with her dog.

Usually, she attends Sally Neal’s Kesgrave Slimming World group on a weekly basis, but is continuing with Sally’s virtual group throughout the lockdown period, joining in on weekly Zoom meetings which Gaynor says are great.

She said: “The virtual group is a great way of keeping connected.

“It is not quite the same as meeting in person, but it is a great way to share ideas and show your support for people in the group.”

%image(15166005, type="article-full", alt="Gaynor Vincent, from Kesgrave, enjoys walking her dog to keep fit and help her stay healthy. Picture: GAYNOR VINCENT")

Gaynor added: “Sally works so hard to keep us motivated, which really is great.”

The mum-of-four’s target was to get her BMI under 25, and now after reaching this she hopes to reduce it further to 22.

She says her journey is not about losing weight but is instead about being healthy and being able to be there for her children in years to come.

Gaynor said her fundamental life-changing realisation was understanding that “each day is a new day”.

She said: “Being a mum I struggle to have the time to count calories, so Slimming World is amazing as it takes care of all those things for you.

“If I have a bit of a blow out one day I have now learnt to just let it go and move on. It really is all about what works for you and your family.”

You can join Slimming World here or search Facebook.com/ipswichSW for the teams Facebook page.