A WEST Cumbrian woman has said she feels 'younger now than 10 years ago' after losing two stone on Slimming World following a hip replacement.

Dianne Jackson lost weight and realised her love for the fells in her sixties after joining Slimming World following a hip replacement.

Di said: “It was so important for me to do all I could to feel the full benefit of my hip replacement through severe osteoarthritis. 

"I had gained weight as I had become less active as my hip deteriorated. I knew that carrying the extra weight wasn’t going to help my recovery.

"To give myself the best chance at getting back on my feet I joined my local Slimming World group and honestly just expected to lose a few pounds to ease the burden.”

Dianne said: “Before I joined Slimming World, I cooked from scratch but used a lot of oils, butter, and sugar in my recipes as that is what I had always done. I had been a Slimming World member before but didn’t stay to group and wasn’t every successful and didn’t understand why.

"When I joined after my hip operation, I knew I had to take a different approach so made the commitment to stay to group each week and this was the turning point. The Slimming World group environment is where I learnt to how to shop, cook and eat differently.

Slimming World has a great activity program. It’s designed for members to start at their own pace and find the activity they love. The member then increases the activity as the grow in strength. It was this point in Dis journey that she decided to give fell walking a try.

Di said: “A friend offered to take me on one of the easier fells, our first walk was Latrigg fell, and I was hooked. I felt so proud of my achievement and increased the difficulty levels as I went. I have now ticked sixty-nine of the two hundred and fourteen wainwrights off my list with the highest being Skiddaw and the longest being Back O Skiddaw, that we twelve miles long and took us 5 hours. Not bad for someone that has had a hip replacement.

"Two years on and at 63 years old, I have kept the two stone off, made lifelong habit changes in the way we eat as a family and have a very active lifestyle that will prolong and protect my joint health into later life."

In July, this year Di opened here own group saying she feels 'younger now than 10 years ago, and it is all down to Slimming World'.

The group is at St Marys Church, Salisbury Street, Westfield at 5.30pm and 7pm on a Wednesday call on 07984 306356.