A RESIDENT of Arrochar who suffers from fibromyalgia has told how she refuses to let the condition hinder her mission to lose weight.

Rebecca Armstrong has shed almost four stone since joining her nearest WW – formerly known as Weight Watchers – and travelling 40 miles each week to attend its Helensburgh workshop at The Commodore Hotel.

Despite being in constant pain from the debilitating disorder, she has transformed her diet and lifestyle after being shocked into taking action earlier this year.

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Rebecca said: “I was struggling to fit into my clothes on my holiday in January and I was kidding myself that I was a size 16, when realistically I was an 18. I should have been relaxing and enjoying my family time but then I saw the holiday pictures and was mortified.

“I suffer from fibromyalgia which leaves me feeling exhausted and always falling asleep, so this all added together did not make for a good mixture.”

Rebecca added: “When I returned from holiday, I hesitantly dragged myself off to my local Weight Watchers’ workshop.

“I was loaded with a cold, but I couldn’t let that stop the start of the new me. And so, the journey began.”

The 39-year-old has dropped four dress sizes since then and now weighs a healthy 10 stone, but she has no plans to end her journey yet.

She said: “I realised that if I was going to succeed, I needed to change my mindset and my relationship with food.

“I’m now able to juggle working full-time as a head receptionist, being mum to a busy 13-year-old teenager and having a fantastic social life, while still losing weight.

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“My coach Samantha Manton has been my rock and picked me up when I was low and celebrated every success with me along the way. I could not have done it without her.

“I’m glad I decided to attend a weekly workshop and not just do the online plan – it’s a 40-mile round trip every week for me, but totally worth it.”

As well as the health benefits from her weight-loss regimen, Rebecca’s self-esteem has also been boosted and though she still struggles with her condition, she is able to lead a much more positive life.

“The more weight I lost the better my energy levels were,” she said.

“I also went from suffering with insomnia to sleeping through the night.

“With my fibromyalgia, the weight-loss has not helped the pain, but I am able to cope with it much better now.

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“I’m not exhausted and lethargic all the time and I’m now the healthiest I’ve ever been.

“Another thing I have that I have never had before is a nice figure and lots of amazing compliments.

“My husband Lee has been an amazing support every step of the way, along with my daughter Catriona, and I couldn’t have done it without them. I’ve lost 52lbs in total and I’m going to keep going to my workshop because I don’t ever want to look at holiday photos and cringe again.”