A BANKIE claims he has improved the control of his type 2 diabetes and no longer needs to take insulin injections – after shedding over three stone in weight.

Stephen Bonner says his blood glucose control is much better after losing 3st 6lbs in just 24 weeks.

He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 28 years ago due to being overweight, and has injected himself with insulin four times a day since being prescribed the life-saving hormone in 1996.

Stephen said: “Being overweight impacted on so many aspects of my life, from struggling to find clothes that I like, to not being able to do simple everyday tasks without feeling tired and out of breath. I always felt like I was lacking energy, I felt like I was on a slippery slope to gaining more and more weight if I didn’t take control.”

His weightloss journey began in May when he first went to the Goldenhill Pub Slimming World group in Clydebank.

Stephen continued: “I attended an appointment at the diabetic clinic and was encouraged to look at my diet because I had put on so much weight, and my blood levels were dangerously high.

“It was at this point I decided that my weight was seriously impacting upon my health, and that I needed to take control of it to help manage the condition.”

Despite describing walking through the doors of the pub that first Thursday evening as “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done”, Stephen hasn’t looked back, and is now looking forward to the rest of his life.

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He said: “I was embarrassed and wasn’t sure initially if this was my kind of thing. I needn’t have worried though, everyone there was so friendly, especially my consultant, Laura Martin.”

Stephen also partially puts his success down to the support he received at Slimming World.

He continued: “My fellow members have really helped encourage and spur me on. Celebrating my success with the group really encouraged me to reach that target weight. They helped me with recipes and tips as well as bags of support and encouragement.”

Stephen followed Slimming World’s food optimising eating plan, and his wife supported him by starting to cook healthy meals from scratch.

He added: “People think slimming means going hungry, yet it’s not like that at all with this healthy eating plan. I can tailor the plan to fit my dietary needs and I can do this with support from my diabetes care team.

“This means I still enjoy all my favourite meals like chunky beef chilli - I’ve just learned how to make small changes like eating lots of vegetables, using lean meat or cooking with low calorie spray instead of oil or butter.”

Today Stephen is now at his target weight with a total loss of 3st 6lb and has never felt better. He’s also more active nowadays and walks five miles daily.

To find your local Slimming World group, or for more information, motivation, and recipe ideas, visit slimmingworld.co.uk.