Norfolk Woman Loses 10 Stone

27 August 2010, 15:32 | Updated: 27 August 2010, 16:14

With the number of people getting weight-loss operations on the NHS rising by nearly 800% in 5 years - a Norfolk woman has been telling Heart why she chose not to have surgery to lose more than 10 stone.

Doctors think more people knowing about things like gastric bands and stomach stapling has lead to extra pressure on the NHS.

Lucy Conroy from Sloley near North Walsham says she needed to lose more than 10 stone but decided to use a slimming club rather than having weight loss surgery.

She told Heart, "I went to Weight Watchers and they educated me on why I put food in my mouth, not necessarily the end result. It helped me understand how I could eat healthily and lose weight for long term weight loss."

She says she never considered surgery and thinks it is just a quick fix: "Anybody that has the surgery doesn't learn anything from it. They learn how to liquidise Mars bars. That doesn't teach them how to eat healthily. I would always say a healthy lifestyle always outweighs the side effects weight loss surgery can involve. (Surgery) limits the quantity they can eat, but it doesn't necessarily restrict what they can eat so if they're a desperate person, by not learning how to eat well, they will still cram the McDonalds in through the bars of their teeth."

After two and a half years, Lucy lost around 10 and a half stone and now runs her own weight watchers meeting.

 Lucy: Before and After