A nutritionist who lost more than six stone by changing her lifestyle has dedicated her new clinic to her late mother.
Saira Ahmad had been overweight since she was a young girl, before changing her diet and slimming down from 14-and-a-half stone to eight stone in her mid-20s.
The 34-year-old, of Cranford, was so pleased with her transformation she quit her job as an IT consultant to train as a nutritionist so she could help others achieve the same.
Her first practice, the Elite Health Nutrition Centre, in Neals Corner, Bath Road, Hounslow, opened on Tuesday (April 21).
The centre is dedicated to her late mother Salma, who lost a seven-year battle with cancer in 2011. It was opened by Labour parliamentary candidate Seema Malhotra.
"I'd been obese since the age of 10 and had diabetes, high cholesterol and thyroid problems, but about nine years ago I started making a change," said Ms Ahmad, who has a diploma in nutrition and an NCFE in nutrition and health from North Brook College, in Sussex.
"I'm now much happier with my weight and no longer have diabetes or high cholesterol, and I want to show others how they can do what I did."
Staff at the centre write tailored nutritional programmes including meal plans for clients looking to lose weight or manage health conditions. It also runs monthly workshops for people of all ages looking to lead healthier lifestyles.
Nearly two fifths (38.7%) of 10 and 11-year-olds in Hounslow are overweight or obese, according to government figures published at the end of last year.
Ms Ahmad's advice for those looking to lose weight is to stop obsessing about the stones and pounds and start leading a healthier lifestyle.
"The majority of people in this day and age overeat and are undernourished; we teach our clients how to over nourish themselves without the need to overeat," she said.
"Live healthier and eat food which is as close to nature as possible and the weight loss will follow, like it did with me."
