A WEIGHT-LOSS champion from Crewe is launching her own group to help others looking to trim down during the lockdown.

Nina Tomkinson lost nearly four stone and went down three dress sizes after embarking on a carefully designed diet programme which has put her health back on track.

The 44-year-old pledged to fight the flab last January after discovering she was suffering from high blood pressure, while her high cholesterol tests left her on prescriptions for statins.

Nina, of Carlisle Street, recalled: "That was it and I thought to myself 'enough is enough'. It was a week after my 43rd birthday and I was being told that I needed to go on medication.

"I'd been overweight for years, but I felt healthy and I was happy. I always had an excuse when it came to thinking about my weight, but that phone call from my GP was the light bulb moment I needed."

Nina rejoined Slimming World via a friend at a local group and soon she was following a clear plan of food optimising with help from one of the company's consultants, while working through nutritious recipes on an app.

She recalled: "I had to get on the dreaded scales and I was totally disgusted with myself for getting to the weight that I had. I felt more determined than ever to succeed this time and I had to for my health and my family's sake.

"I loved food optimising and the variety of meals that you can eat are great. I made lots of nice meals, making sure they were on plan and tried some of the new recipes.

"My consultant was lovely and she was really clear at going through how the plan works and provided me with all the tools that I needed to get onto my weight loss journey."

Nina says she was still able to tuck into her favourite lasagne, curries and roast dinners using Slimming World's syn allowance system.

She cut her weight by half a stone in her first two weeks on the programme and was soon awarded the Slimmer of the Month title.

When the lockdown kicked in last March she resisted the temptations of comfort eating and virtual weigh-in and group zoom meetings helped her on her virtuous path weekly.

"Lockdown helped me to focus and plan what food I could eat each week. All of the foods, takeaways that would normally be my enemy, I couldn't get to so it helped me to carry on," explained Nina.

"As time went on, I felt so much more healthier, slimmer and happier with myself. I had so much more energy and no more aches and pains. During the first lockdown I started going walking locally with friends and it was lovely to get out and enjoy the outdoors."

Nina collected an array of awards - including three Slimmer of the Month prizes - when her group restarted last August by which time she had lost a stone and 10lbs.

Now she has cut her weight by three stone 8lb. Regular exercise, including swimming and walking have helped and she says she "feels more alive than I have done for years after yo-yo dieting all my life".

Now Nina wants to pass on the tips of her own success when she relaunches a new Slimming World group on Wednesday, January 27. The group, which would otherwise be based at St Michaels Church Hall in Crewe, is being held virtually.

You can contact her on 07525015905 to book in.