A mum from Ealing says she has found the Holy Grail of getting off the dreaded blood pressure tablets that so many middle aged people now have to take every day.
Ealing Council and the local NHS spend thousands of pounds each year on public health campaigns and even more on giving out blood pressure pills.
But mother-of-two Louise Buchanan who runs a successful online website selling beads, says her life has improved 100% since making some small changes earlier this year.
Critically, her blood pressure has dropped from high to normal levels, allowing her to ditch the tablets.
In January this year Louise, who is just 5ft 4ins, weighed 12 stone, making her 'overweight' according to official NHS figures. But by Easter, the weight had fallen off and she was just under ten stone, making her a 'healthy' weight.
For the first time, Louise was able to get into size 10 skirt that had been hanging in her wardrobe for years. The back problems she had suffered with for years also cleared up.
"On January 11 this year, I had been invited to a funeral and I realised I had no black clothes to wear," she said.
"I went to the shops and had to get a large size with stretchy elastic. In the changing room there were mirrors all around me and it was just so grim.
"I was so uncomfortable in my own skin. I was hiding in baggy clothes.
"Then I found a slimming group on Google and I thought, 'I'm going to be brave and go along'. And as soon as I did, I thought 'my God, this is so easy'.
"They actually encourage you to eat but it's healthy eating. You just have to use fry-lite and eat healthily. It's really simple.
"I got my weight off and had such fun doing it."
Louise combined the healthy eating with exercise once a week using an Aqua Jogger which helps you walk in the swimming pool, and by walking a bit faster when she was out and about. But she says it was hardly a taxing routine.
"I always used to walk very slowly when I was out and about and the family would always be shouting at me to catch up.
"My blood pressure was always high, it was dangerous and it got to the point where they put me on a blood pressure monitor and then I had to go on tablets. But they make you tired.
"Then when I went to the surgery, they said my weight was fine and my blood pressure was fine and I was able to get off the tablets."
Of course NHS trusts and council's spend thousands each year on promoting healthy eating and exercise to children and adults and spend a great deal of time researching the problems, but Louise says the answers are simple.
She says her relationship with her husband Ian, and her family life benefited as well.
"When you're walking round wearing baggy clothes to hide in you're not really feeling sexy are you? And my husband, although not overweight, was always getting told by the doctors he should lose a few pounds.
"He started eating the food I was cooking and one day he asked me if the scales were wrong, but in fact he had lost half a stone.
"My sons also really liked the food and got in to the whole thing as well."
Louise says her mental health has improved hugely too.
"It really knocks your confidence when you're overweight. I used to make excuses for not doing things, but now I think, 'yey...why not!'
"Once you lose that couple of stone, suddenly people notice and start saying 'wow look at you'."
Louise is now running her own slimming classes at St Matthew's Church in Ealing on Wednesdays at 5.30pm and 7.30pm starting on October 31.
Call her for details on 07777645280 or just turn up.
Ealing Council offers a range of services to help people lead a healthy lifestyle. You can find out more online at https://www.ealing.gov.uk/oneyou
