"They said it could be fatal": Incredible Slimming World weight loss leads to Copnor man's diabetes reversal

After retiring just over two years ago, Roy Lovegrove from Copnor, realised that he had ‘piled on a lot of’ weight. The 76-year-old was determined to do something about the weight gain and he joined the Slimming World group at St Joseph’s Church Hall, Baffins, with his daughter who had recently had a baby.

Together, they embarked on a weight loss journey, and with the support of the group, Roy has successfully dropped two and half stone and is now only one pound away from hitting his target weight. Starting the group at 15 stone 5lbs, Roy is now 12 stone 11lb - and his health has massively improved since the weight loss.

A few months after he joined the Baffins group, Roy was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and his blood pressure was at a ‘fatal’ level. This health scare pushed him to achieve his goals and, with the support of his wife who cooks all his meals, he was able to get to a healthy weight. Roy said: “I started last year. I retired two years ago and I piled on a lot of weight. My daughter had just given birth and she wanted to get back to her stature. She wanted someone to go to Slimming World with her and I said I would give it a go.

“It was a couple months after when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I knew I had to do something about it - I just kept going. The weight came off gradually. There is a bit of a stigma about men going to a slimming group but I fit right in.

“I am now in remission for my diabetes and my blood pressure has come back down - when I originally went to the doctors my blood pressure was 200 and they said that it could be fatal.

“I now play six aside football in a mixed group on a Saturday morning.”

Roy said that the programme is easy to follow and there are a lot of options to choose from when doing the weekly shop making meals much more interesting. Not only has the group given Roy a place where he can explore healthy meals, but he has also made friends.

The Baffins Slimming World group is run by Chantelle Ash and she runs sessions on Wednesdays at 9am, 5:30pm and 7pm and on Fridays at 8am and 9:30am. For more information about your local Slimming World group, click here.