Grandad’s 12st weight loss in a year after promising his dying daughter he’d lose weight to look after her kids

AS his daughter lay dying, Mike Summers knew he had one life-changing promise he had to make her.

Tipping the scales at 30 stone, Mike Summers realised he desperately needed to lose weight in order to care for his dying daughter’s three children.

And in his final conversation with his 29-year-old daughter before she passed away from breast cancer in 2016, Mike vowed to get in shape so he could be a proper grandfather to her kids.

After a year battling health problems and grieving the loss of daughter, Mike was finally ready to go about keeping the promise he made and signed up to Slimming World in 2018.

And, just one year later, he is an impressive 12 stone lighter after losing a pound a month to reach 14 stone this summer.

The plasterer, from Caerphilly in South Wales, explained: “The last conversation I had with my daughter was I had to try and be around to help my son in law with her kids.

“I was being selfish. It is only when I lost my daughter did I realise that if something happened to me, I would be leaving everyone else behind.

“The reason why I have done this is not for my own personal gain, but for everybody.

“My goal was to make sure I could be around for my family and you could not get a better motivation than that.”

My goal was to make sure I could be around for my family and you could not get a better motivation than that

Mike Summers

Mike has manage to lose a huge 12st 3lb so far – which he has dubbed the “single best achievement” in his life.

Before his weight loss journey, he would gorge on several pasties for breakfast, multiple sandwiches for lunch and a takeaway for dinner.

And with extra snacks and sugary drinks throughout the day, he knew he was putting his health at risk and needed to change.

In 2018, he was even rushed to hospital because of the strain his weight was putting on his body.

Mike still suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a condition that reduces lung capacity and makes it difficult to breathe.

He also has an atrial fibrillation of the heart, which causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

Mike told WalesOnline: “With the COPD, the weight was crushing my lungs and it was so straining.

“It also meant that my heart had to work a lot harder because I was carrying so much weight.”

Despite both conditions being chronic, they are manageable and Mike is determined to carry on.

He added: “Now I have lost all this weight, it has got a thousand times better.

“I feel fitter now than I did when I was in my 40s.”

Mike said attending the Slimming World group, which is run by Kim O’Leary, was the best form of support he could get throughout his weight loss journey.

“The support from the other people in the group and from Kim was amazing. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

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