Too fat to walk: Mother loses 9st 7lb in 18 months after the humiliation of needing a wheelchair on a day out with friends

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Linda weighed nearly 22st at her heaviest
Was diagnosed with a lupus-like syndrome and arthritis in several joints
On a trip to Coventry Cathedral she had to resort to using a wheelchair
Decided to lose weight and used the Cambridge Weight Plan
Since lost 9st 7lb in just 18 months, now weighing 12st 4lb
Her son, who lives abroad, didn't recognise her when she met him

Published: 11:20 EST, 3 November 2014 | Updated: 11:20 EST, 3 November 2014

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One woman's motivation to lose weight came when her size forced her to be wheelchair bound on a simple day out with friends.

Linda Silverton, 55, discovered she was too large to walk around Coventry Cathedral in March 2012 and had to resort to using a wheelchair despite having nothing physically wrong with her.

Linda, of Wembley, who weighed in at 21st 9lb at the time, decided she had to stop eating large portions and go on a diet.

She took up the Cambridge Weight Plan and has since lost 9st 7lb in just 18 months, now weighing 12st 4lb.

Linda went from 21st 9lb (left with husband Jeff) to 12st 4lb (right) after her size began to increasingly impact her health

She said: 'Everyone who succeeds in losing weight has that one moment in time where you are so embarrassed, so upset that it gives you the strength and motivation. For me, my moment was in Coventry - at the Cathedral.'

'We had planned a fun visit with some of my closest and oldest friends to see the Cathedral and the Transport Museum.

'It should have been a lovely weekend but I was miserable. While my friends were walking round the cathedral admiring the stained glass windows, I just about managed to hobble round.

Linda's diet before

Breakfast - Three croissants and a coffee on her way to work

Lunch - Sandwich, crisps and chocolate bar

Afternoon snack - Chocolate bar/cake

Dinner - A 'proper' meal - VERY large portion

Evening snack - Chocolate bar

Linda's diet after

Breakfast - Cottage cheese with a rice cake

Mid-morning snack - Cambridge bar

Lunch - Soup

Dinner - Chicken and vegetables (small portion)

Linda's size saw her diagnosed with a lupus-like syndrome and arthritis in several joints

The change in her appearance has been so extreme that her son, who lives abroad, didn't recognise her when he came home to visit

Linda said: 'Everyone who succeeds in losing weight has that one moment in time where you are so embarrassed, so upset that it gives you the strength and motivation. For me, my moment was in Coventry - at the Cathedral.'

Linda says the diet has changed her life and that even her own son didn't recognise her

'By the time we got to the transport museum I couldn't manage another step.

'My friend didn't want me to be left out so went and hired a wheelchair to push me round - it was terrible. I had become too fat to walk.'

Linda, who is married to Jeff, has lived in Wembley for more than 30 years.

She said: 'I had always been on the large side of normal.

'Growing up, my mother always emphasised that children shouldn't waste food and should always clear their plate.

'I often started diets but never did them for more than a couple of days. I felt fine.

'Whenever I'd go to the doctor, she would tell me that I should lose weight, but 'for my size' I was in good shape.

'During my late forties, I was diagnosed with a number of health issues, including lupus-like syndrome and arthritis in my knees and various other joints.

'Where previously I enjoyed a wander round a car boot sale or a walk around the shops on the weekend, slowly this became more difficult.

' I had little energy and even small things became exceptionally difficult.

'All the doctors I saw told me that if I lost some weight, my symptoms may improve.

'I smiled and agreed that I would do something about it.'

Linda says the diet has changed her life and that people don't recognise her.

She said: 'I knew the diet had really changed my life when I went to visit my son, who lives abroad.

'We had arranged that he would meet me at the airport and when I came out he looked straight through me - not recognising me.

'I knew then that I really was a new person and my life had changed in every way.'