Can you THINK yourself thin? Obese woman loses half her bodyweight and can ditch diabetes meds thanks to inspirational podcasts

From fad diets to savvy gadgets, there are hundred of products claiming to aid us in the weight loss cause.
And now, the latest slimming aid claims to help women shed pounds simply listening to a daily voice recording.
The recording, called a Slimpod, comprises goal-oriented voice recordings created by behavioural change experts based in Harley Street.

It claims to gently retune the mind, change people’s relationships with food and make them eat less, feel full quicker and make better choices – all without even having to think about it.
The new weight loss technique was put to the test by Barbara Greenwood, who lost a staggering five and a half stone in less than a year using the method.
The 48-year-old community worker from Mansfield, Notts, dropped from a size 28 to a size 18 after using the system.

Her BMI has gone from 46 to 32 – and last week her nurse took her off her main type 2 diabetes medication.
Speaking about her weight loss she said: ‘I’m so glad I found out about Slimpods because years of dieting didn’t make me lose weight. Now I have a new lease of life.’
For almost 40 years, Barbara has had massive problems with her weight. She would binge and diet and decades of dieting achieved nothing because any weight she lost went straight back on again.

She said: ‘At 14, I was 13st 7lbs. By my late twenties, I crossed the line into morbid obesity.
‘At 34, I was 21st and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My all time heaviest a few years ago was 22st and size 30.’

Life was becoming unbearable. Barbara even struggled to cut her own toenails or put her shoes and socks on because of her weight problem.
‘At the back end of last year I reached breaking point because the many ways in which my weight was affecting my quality of life became intolerable,
‘I suffered excessive sweating all through that summer and autumn, I had frequent indigestion and acid reflux, pain in my knees and hips, and just generally felt dreadful.
‘Not to mention the little humiliations of seat-belt extensions and not being able to lay the tray-table flat on an aeroplane, avoiding chairs with arms in public places, and all the other things that the morbidly obese suffer,’ she said.

With her husband’s help she made a New Year resolution to make one last attempt at changing her eating habits and by mid-February 2012 she had lost over a stone.
But the urge to eat more was overwhelming and soon Barbara stopped her diet and started to wonder if gastric surgery was the only answer.
‘Then one day I was Googling weight loss and I came across Slimpods mentioned on a weight loss support forum,
‘Something just clicked, and I decided to give it a go, so I bought a Slimpod. That day I weighed 20st 2lbs. Eleven months later I’ve lost 5st 7lbs and I’m a size 18.
‘The effects were dramatic – right away, I could hear the voice saying “one bite at a time” whenever I ate something and “listen to the signal from your body that you’ve had enough to eat.”
‘Within a few days I was leaving food on my plate, declining biscuits with no struggle at all, and soon had to give myself smaller portions.
‘I no longer binge eat, seldom eat enough that I feel stuffed, and I find that I can enjoy small amounts of treats, which are treats, and not a staple food which I eat lots of every day.’
Every year the company behind the Slimpod, Thinking Slimmer, holds The Slimpod Stars awards, of which Barbara was the winner.
To celebrate her success she was treated to a makeover by the Personal Shopping team at Debenhams on Oxford Street.
For the first time in ten years, Barbara put on a dress and wore make up, and her transformation was stunning.

Speaking about the makeover she said: ‘After decades of clothes shopping being a necessary evil when I would be grateful to find one or two things that would fit me, it has become a delight.
‘When the personal shopper at Debenhams, Alain, said he was going to put me in a dress I have to say I took some convincing! But he was right and I was amazed at how fantastic it looked.
‘I felt feminine for the first time in many, many years. Alain even got me in peep toe heels!’
She added: ‘Suddenly with my new size I’m overwhelmed by colours and styles, not yet knowing who I am because I’ve not been able to develop a personal style before.
‘Until now I just bought whatever clothes would hide the bulges. Today I have choice for the first time and exploring what works for me is both scary and wonderful at the same time.
‘Today I am confident that my new shape and new confidence in myself is here to stay.’
Thinking Slimmer’s founder Sandra Roycroft-Davis said: ‘Many people diet because they think there’s no other way. Now we’ve changed all that, making it possible to lose weight and love the skin you’re in.
‘Constant dieting often has horrendous psychological effects manifesting in low confidence, obsession with calories, deprivation, bingeing and generally feeling out of control.
‘I’m very proud that our Slimpods reverse these effects and help people have a normal relationship with food.’