AN OLD Colwyn woman who lost more than three stone in weight is now full of energy and has reduced her reliance on medication to control asthma.

Karen Williams, aged 53, started to slim seriously earlier this year when she heard being overweight and suffering from asthma affected the chance of her surviving Covid 19, should she catch it.

Karen said: “I decided to join the Old Colwyn Slimming World group as I had a leg injury and not being mobile meant my weight piled on, and being only five feet tall I felt huge strain on my joints. I had a lovely welcome as I walked through the door of the group everyone was friendly and extremely supportive.

“I joined last February, three weeks before we went into lockdown, but thanks to Slimming World holding groups virtually I have lost 3st 3lbs so far and I'm well on my way to losing more.

“Before joining my asthma was very bad and I had to take my Ventolin inhaler many times during the day and I felt tired all the time. Sometimes even going upstairs meant I was out of breath. I had no energy at all, and I was really unhappy with how I looked and felt. My clothes didn’t fit and I hated clothes shopping. I lived off convenience foods and didn't do much cooking if any at all.”

Karen added: “Thanks to the constant support from my Slimming World consultant Becky Williams and other group members I have learnt how to cook from scratch, I'm now eating foods I'd never heard of let alone cooked.

“My asthma is now well controlled and I have gone from using two Ventolin inhalers a month to one every two to three months. I'm now in the process of discussing coming off some of my medication with my doctor.

“I'm full of energy and walk miles with my friends and the best bit is I'm not grabbing for my inhaler.

“I've gone from size 16 to18 to size 12 and I absolutely love clothes shopping.

I run up the stairs and around the park with the dog.”