The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A grandmother who shed an incredible eight stone in weight is hoping to become an inspiration to others.
Lindsey Dane halved her size when she went from a 24 to a 12 after suffering fears over her health.
And she is now relaunching a Slimming World class at Spalding Grammar School in the hope others will follow suit.
Lindsey said: “My life has changed so much and I want others to experience my happiness and love of life too.”
The Deeping St Nicholas resident first started to pile on the pounds when her daughter suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a 13-year-old.
Spending hours by her bedside in intensive care, Lindsey started “comfort eating”. She tried out many different diets over the following years in a bid to lose the weight, but found that none were sustainable.
Lindsey explained: “I would just yo-yo the whole time. I tried to hide how miserable I was with jokes and laugh it off, but inside I was dying with embarrassment about how fat and ugly I had become.
“My health suffered and I started to have terrible headaches. My blood pressure was dangerously high. I was so upset, but still too ashamed to admit that my weight was out of control.”
In 2015, Lindsey decided to go to a Slimming World group to provide support for her best friend.
She commented: “I still refused to admit to myself that I had a problem. I had convinced myself it wouldn’t work.
“I felt really sceptical about it and thought it would be a load of clap-happy people moaning about their weight.”
However, within one week, Lindsey had changed her perceptions after meeting welcoming consultants and learning how to eat healthy.
She added: “It all seemed too good to be true, but I was surprised at how vibrant and inspirational the group was.”
A stunned Lindsey discovered she had lost 8.5lbs in the first week and continued to thrive to eventually reach her size 12.
Her long-term partner has also asked her to marry him and they plan on getting wed in Mauritius next year.
She enthused: “I am confident now, my life has changed so much.”
Lindsey also explained that she was encouraged to start moderate exercise, such as dog walking, and is now planning on riding from London to Paris in September.
She hopes to raise much-needed funds for Tadworth Children’s Trust which was where her daughter received rehabilitation following her brain injury.
Her Slimming World Group is on a Monday night at 7.30pm at Spalding Grammar School and will be opening on July 18.
