SURGERY WARNING MADE GAIL SWAP SWEETS Doc shock made me lose eight stone

A Paisley woman has dropped a whopping eight stone after a visit to her GP shocked her into taking action.

Gail Carlyle weighed 17 stones at her heaviest - despite only being a tiny 5ft 1 inches tall.

The 44-year-old had been going to her GP with a series of health complaints but never made the link between poor health and her weight.

When her doctor told her that she was morbidly obese, Gail was shocked.

She told the Paisley Daily Express: "I knew deep down it was true but it took me hearing those words out loud to make a change.

“I had blocked it out for so long."

Gail, who used to eat fast food, takeaways and tubs of ice cream every night, joined Weight Watchers classes at Paisley’s Pro-Life Fitness Centre to stay motivated in her weight loss mission.

She said: "I would eat until my arms hurt. It was like I was treating every day as if it was Christmas.

"I kept a shoe box filled with chocolates and sweets under my bed, but it took me a long time to understand just how much I was overeating.

"At my biggest, my body was 49 per cent fat."

After joining Weight Watchers Gail lost 12 pounds in the first two weeks and now has dropped 7 dress sizes - from a size 22 to a size eight.

"At first the weight just fell off me once I started making changes, it was a shock to see just how unhealthy I was.”

Now Gail has learned to cook healthy meals and takes pride in preparing all her food each night.

She explained: "My sweetie jars are now full of lentils.

"When I was eating badly I wasn’t taking care of myself, now when I cook I make the mental note that I am finally looking after myself.

"It may sound boring but I love it. I can’t imagine ever going back.

Gail says her healthy attitude has had a ripple effect and helped her to find strength she didn’t even know she had.

She now has the confidence to exercise with others and calls the gym her ‘happy place’.

Gail said: "If you had told me a few years ago that