SHE’S half the woman she used to be. For grandmother Louise Whitworth has dropped from a dress size 16 to an eight in the space of just 12 months.

And it was this photograph of her cuddling her young grandson that proved to be the catalyst for her dramatic weight loss.

“The big 50 was around the corner and I was lacking confidence and feeling very lethargic,” she said. “When I saw this picture it made me realise that I just had to something about my size.

“My weight has yo-yoed all my life but at my heaviest I weighed over 11 stone. I’d tried lots of different slimming clubs and quick fixes over the years but nothing worked for me.”

Louise, 47, who lives in West Moors enrolled at her local Slimming World Club and lost nearly three stone in a year.

“Last summer my daughter and I ran a 5k race in Poole and raised £200 for Cancer Research. It is a cause close to my heart as my mother had womb cancer. To be able to do something to help others is an amazing feeling.”

Now Louise is training to run a 10k race to raise funds for the charity.

“If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be taking part in a 10k running race I would never have believed them. Until last summer I hadn’t run anywhere since I left school!”

Now Louise wants to help others lose weight and is running her own Slimming World group in Curzon Road, Bournemouth, on Tuesdays at 7.30pm Louise added: “I know how losing weight can give you your life back so I want to help other people experience that too.”