A mum-of-five who was diagnosed with type two diabetes after her weight hit 21 stone has managed to turn her health around, after dropping four dress sizes.

Ipswich Star: Gill Porter, 61, said she is much more confident and enjoys clothes shopping now she has lost seven stone. Picture: GILL PORTERGill Porter, 61, said she is much more confident and enjoys clothes shopping now she has lost seven stone. Picture: GILL PORTER (Image: GILL PORTER)

Gill Porter, 61, weighed more than 20 stone back in 2011 when she was diagnosed by doctors as having type two diabetes, a condition which develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or when the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin.

Exactly why this happens is unknown, although genetics and environmental factors, such as being overweight and inactive, seem to be contributing reasons.

Mrs Porter struggled with her weight ever since she got married and had her five children, explaining that the pounds just piled on and she became indenial.

When she was diagnosed by doctors and put on metformin tablets, she knew she needed to make a change. She decided to join Slimming World and hasn’t looked back.

Ipswich Star: Before losing the weight with the help of Slimming World, mum-of-five Gill Porter weighed 21 stone. Picture: GILL PORTERBefore losing the weight with the help of Slimming World, mum-of-five Gill Porter weighed 21 stone. Picture: GILL PORTER (Image: GILL PORTER)

“It was very scary,” said Mrs Porter. “I know that with type two diabetes you can get quite bad and have to start injecting yourself, which I really didn’t want. So I knew I had to do something.”

Less than three years later she has managed to lose seven stone with the help of Slimming World and is in remission for her diabetes. Her medication has been cut down to one tablet a day, which she is hoping to stop altogether at her next check up, and she has dropped from a size 24 to an 18 or 16.

“I feel much more confident,” she said. “I used to hate going clothes shopping before as I thought I looked horrible in everything. But now I love it.”

Mrs Porter also suffers from arthritis in her knees and has said that after losing the weight she now feels less tired and more active, explaining she can now walk to the shops without getting out of breath.

Ipswich Star: Gill Porter, has dropped from a size 24 to a size 16 to 18. Picture: GILL PORTERGill Porter, has dropped from a size 24 to a size 16 to 18. Picture: GILL PORTER (Image: GILL PORTER)

She needs to lose a few more pounds before she will be able to have a knee operation, which is something she is working towards.

Due to Mrs Porter’s arthritis, the only exercise she is able to do is light walking, managing to lose the weight purely by changing her eating habits.

She said: “It proves that you can lose weight just by changing what you eat. Before I would snack really badly, often eating a whole six-pack of crisps and going through a packet of biscuits in one sitting.”

Now Mrs porter has swapped her evening snacks for fruit and carrot sticks, and has avoided buying biscuits so they cannot be a temptation.

Ipswich Star: Gill Porter, 61, has managed to reverse her type two diabetes with the help of Slimming World, losing seven stone in total. Picture: GILL PORTERGill Porter, 61, has managed to reverse her type two diabetes with the help of Slimming World, losing seven stone in total. Picture: GILL PORTER (Image: GILL PORTER)

“I feel so much better because of my weight loss and reversing my diabetes,” she said. “You really don’t realise how being overweight can cause so many health problems.

“But now I feel amazing.”