A 55-year-old super slimmer from Whitland got along swimmingly with Olympian Mark Foster when she met him at the semi-finals of a national weight-loss contest.

Christine White, who shed over nine and a half stone and dropped nine dress sizes, was one of just 54 women to win a place at the semi-finals of Slimming World's Woman of the Year 2016.

It was there that she was congratulated by Mark, who is Britain's most-decorated male swimmer and six-time world champion.

Christine, a mum-of-three, piled on the weight after a series of stresses in her life, including the death of her husband and mother and her son being seriously injured after being run over a lorry.

She also suffered permanent damage to her neck and back after being involved in a road accident.

She joined the Slimming World group in Whitland, and her superb weight-loss journey led her to win the title of Slimming World's Woman of the Year for South West Wales.

Said Christine: "I'd tried and failed to lose weight so many times that I honestly thought I was destined to be overweight forever.

"Before Slimming World, I always found myself feeling deprived, hungry and miserable when I tried to lose weight. Slimming World completely opened my eyes to a totally new way of eating.

"As a single parent, I needed to be there for my children, so making sure I'm healthy as I can be is really important."

Enfys Davies, who runs the Slimming World group in Whitland, described Christine as "an inspiration".

She added: "While she has lost weight, she's grown in so many other ways - her confidence, her happiness and her zest for life.

"It's been a pleasure to share in her journey - I couldn't be more proud of her, and I know the Whitland group all feel the same way.

"She's blossomed into a beautiful woman both inside and out."

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