A woman who has Down Syndrome and relied on a wheelchair to walk has transformed her life after losing three stone.

Dawn Gammons lives with her parents, Pete and Diane, in Chadderton and for the past three years has been attending a Slimming World group at St Mark's Church on Milne Street every week.

The 45-year-old said: "Before I came to Slimming World, I was 15 stone and 6.5lbs and I thought I was fat.

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"I couldn't walk properly because of my weight, my bad back and my bad legs.

"I used a wheelchair when we wanted to go for a walk."

Dawn then said she heard about the group through a family member which interested her.

In January 2020, she decided to take the plunge and attend her first session where she met Kay Lomas, her Slimming World consultant.

The Oldham Times: Dawn has hit many milestones in her weight loss journeyDawn has hit many milestones in her weight loss journey (Image: Slimming World)

Dawn continued: "Kay is super and helped me loads.

"She told me to write down everything I ate and drank.

"So, every day at 4pm, I landed at my mum's knee to fill in my book about everything I'd eaten and to plan my meals."

Despite Covid restrictions which suspended physical meet-ups, Dawn followed the plan and said she just "did what Kay said because she looked after me".

She added: "She phoned me every week to support me and sent me HiFi bars for me to enjoy."

By September that year, Dawn discovered she had lost an impressive three stone and reached her target weight.

Though she lost the weight in eight months, Dawn said she has maintained at her target weight ever since and has now become a 'diamond' target member at the Chadderton group.

The Oldham Times: The weight loss champion has become a diamond target member, meaning she's kept the weight off for three yearsThe weight loss champion has become a diamond target member, meaning she's kept the weight off for three years (Image: Slimming World)

She continued: "I can now walk my little dog, Alfie, every day because I can walk better now I've lost my weight.

"I love my recipe books and I make tea on a Saturday with my mum or dad to help, but I'm in charge.

"I love my Slimming World group because everyone supports me and I love Kay.

"Every week, I tell my friends and family how I am doing because they are all proud of me.

"I am now happy as I am."

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