A REMARKABLE slimmer has got rid of his diabetes... by losing a load of weight.

Neil Watkins, 67, who lives in Southend, is celebrating losing more than three stone and as a result is no longer suffering from Type Two Diabetes.

And jubilant Neil also no longer needs medication to keep the condition at bay.

The super-slimmer, who attends the Rochford Slimming World group, said he feels great too after turning his life around.

He said: “I was diagnosed with type two diabetes due to me being overweight seven years ago, and the doctor told me I would needed to take medication to manage it.

“My blood sugar was dangerously high, my weight was seriously impacting my health.

“I needed to take control of my weight to help manage the condition so I decided to join slimming world.

“Being overweight impacted on so many aspects of my life, one night I was sat on the sofa watching TV eating a large size bar of my favourite chocolate and I just had a thought ‘what am I doing to myself?’. With health concerns and me now being 67 I knew something had to change.”

He said thanks to Slimming World he was able to change his eating habits and learn about changing his diet.

He said: “People think slimming means going hungry, yet it’s not like that at all with this healthy eating plan.

“I love food and it’s never once felt like I was on ‘a diet’ – in fact, people are always surprised at how much food I have on my plate and can’t believe I’m losing weight eating so much delicious food and without ever feeling hungry.

“I can tailor the plan to fit my dietary needs and I can do this with support from my diabetes care team.

“This means I still enjoy all my favourite foods and I love enjoying meat which is fine on the plan - I’ve just learned how to make small changes like eating lots of vegetables, using lean meat or cooking with low calorie spray instead of oil or butter.

“Thanks to the changes I’ve made my health has improved dramatically and I no longer need to take any medication my blood sugar reading is now in the normal range and the doctor says I show no symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

“I’ve got my life back. And I couldn’t be happier.

“The world isn’t shrinking anymore, it’s getting bigger and bigger by the day and I wish I had joined slimming world ten years ago.”