Alison Hammond has shared the poignant eight-word plea from her mother that spurred her to lose an astonishing 11 stone. The This Morning star
Speaking with Good Housekeeping Magazine, Alison shared: “Just before she died, Mum said to me: ‘If you can, sort out your weight, Alison’, and that really set it in my head.
“My mum had type 2 diabetes and she was worried for me, so when I then found out that I was pre-diabetic, that was frightening.”
Alison says that after her mum begged her to shed the pounds, she made a life-changing decision: “I thought: ‘I have to be an adult about this.’ The sweets had to stop – and the fatty foods.
“Twice a week, I see my personal trainer and I have a couple of weights in my bedroom. I walk, I stretch and sometimes I do a bit of yoga. I try to vary it so it’s not the same every day.”
“After a session at the gym, I think I’m Venus Williams, with all those endorphins pumping around. If I miss a session or two with my trainer, I notice it. That kick you get out of the way you feel is so good.”
Alison ended up losing 11 stone after being “morbidly obese” with a weight of 28 stone at her heaviest.
Speaking on This Morning, she shared: “I used to buy an extra seat because I didn’t want to put anyone in a situation where I was touching them.”
“I was made to feel uncomfortable on one occasion when I was so close to someone’s seat and they asked to move but they ended up moving me into first class.”
“It was embarrassing the whole thing and from that moment I just started buying two seats.
“I don’t do it anymore because I’ve lost a bit of timber but not everyone can afford to do that.”
Past attempts at weight loss included a gastric band which did not deliver the desired results for Hammond. “It’s actually quite a difficult thing. It just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like the feeling of it. You still feel hungry but you can’t eat,” she expressed.
She told Good Housekeeping that she hasn’t tried any weight-loss medication either: “I think that, for people who need to use them, they’re a good thing. But for me, as soon as I hear any scare story, I get frightened. So I haven’t wanted to use them, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t in the future, and I certainly wouldn’t look down on anyone who did.”
Celebrating her successful weight loss journey, Alison said she’s happier with her health today, adding: “I’m no longer pre-diabetic, so I’m a bit naughtier with my food now. But because my body’s working properly, I can allow myself a bit of sugar here and there.
“I love my new shape and although I still have areas I’m conscious of, such as my arms and my tummy, it’s great being able to wear things I would never have been able to before. I mean, look at me, I’m a bombshell!”