"I lost weight and can walk again" (From Bournemouth Echo)

"I lost weight and can walk again"

9:30am Wednesday 3rd February 2010 in

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IF ever there was a valid reason why a person can’t get fit and lose weight then Angie Livingstone could lay claim to it.

And yet this determined 37-year-old woman has proved that anything is possible once you put your mind to it.

For Angie has cerebral palsy and has spent much of her later life in a wheelchair. And yet despite her disabilities, Angie has managed to lose four and a half stone in less than 12 months and is now able to walk again.

She arrived at her local slimming club without her wheelchair for the first time last week to a huge round of applause.

“We were absolutely astounded,” says Di Cook, leader of the Weight Watcher’s group in Kinson. “Angie had told me her goal was to walk again but I wasn’t expecting to see her on her feet quite so soon. It brought a lump to your throat– it was a special moment.”

Angie who lives at Talbot Village and weighed 16 and a half stone at her heaviest, says she felt very proud.

“People were staring at me with their mouths open. I feel so happy that I have more freedom to do things now like being able to stand up and do the washing up which I couldn’t do before.

“And I feel so much better in myself. I’ve got more energy – I actually want to get up in the mornings now. I also used to have very high blood pressure – my doctors say I would have been on blood pressure tablets by now if I hadn’t lost the weight.”

Angie says she doesn’t know how she used to function before she lost the weight.

“I was in denial at the time but now I look at pictures of myself and think – how could I have let myself get into that state? I was very sad and I used to comfort eat in the evenings. I would get through two packets of crisps four or five biscuits and then eat some chocolate.

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“It got to the stage when I could hardly move or do anything for myself and that’s when I thought I have to do something about it so I went along to Weight Watchers with my friend last April and I haven’t looked back since.”

But it’s not just a change of diet that’s helped Angie turn her life around. She also managing to exercise too – even though she only has the use of one arm.

“Although I can’t do the same amount of exercise as other people can I still go swimming – I managed 57 lengths in a month – and I also exercise at home with a fitness DVD.

“Some people say they don’t have time to exercise but that’s just an excuse because you have to be disciplined. I always stick to my eating plan too. It goes to show what you can do if you try.”

Now Angie says she would like to get a job either as a Weight Watchers consultant or a telephonist. “I am determined to make the most of my life and I hope that I might inspire others who are in a similar situation and show them that anything is possible.

“This isn’t just a flash in the pan – this is for life – I’m never going back to being 16 and a half stone again. I’m hoping that people will read this and think: if she can do it then so can I.”