A grandfather lost 12 stone in just 12 months to honour his dying daughter's wish that he would be around for his grandchildren.

Mike Summers started his weight loss journey in August 2018, after a tough year battling health problems and grieving over the death of his daughter.

Mike's daughter Sarah died in 2016 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was denied life prolonging treatment as the cancer was not considered 'exceptional' enough.

Sarah, who had three children, was 29 when she died.

Michael's daughter Sarah died in 2016

"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," said 56-year-old Mike.

"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 (lost weight) 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."

Mike was 26.9 stone when he joined Slimming World in August 2018. He now weighs 14.5 stone, averaging his weight loss to around a stone a month.

This is how Slimming World works

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Mike's weight loss, which he credits as the "single best achievement" in his life, has now totalled 12.3 stone.

Mike said he was putting his life in danger with his daily diet which mostly included a handful of pasties for breakfast, multiple sandwiches for lunch and a takeaway for dinner, as well as snacks throughout the day.

Mike has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is one of Wales' most common diseases, is a condition which affects the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe.

He also has an atrial fibrillation of the heart - a condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

Both conditions are incurable but can be managed by medication. But Mike's weight was putting a huge strain on his body, which was having a bad impact on his health.

"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."

Mike with his wife Deborah before his weight loss
Mike says he feels fitter than ever

Mike was hospitalised at the beginning of 2018 due to the strain his weight was putting on his body.

At that point, he was 27.6 stone.

"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."

The plasterer, who is originally from Penygraig but now lives in Caerphilly , credits his weight loss to the amazing support he received from his Slimming World Group in Trealaw, Rhondda .

"I'm still eating a lot of the things that I used to eat, but the way I am cooking it is a lot better.

"I still have special fried rice and other takeaway-style food, but instead I make them myself. We call them fakeaways."

This is what Mike used to eat, compared to what he eats now

Before

Breakfast

Breakfast for Mike was usually on the go, as he rushed to work in the morning. This consisted of a handful of pasties and pastries.

Lunch

A typical lunch for Mike usually meant multiple sandwiches bought from a shop. Mike said that on his Slimming World diet, he can still eat things like sandwiches, as long as it is brown bread and made at home, where he knows what is being put into it.

Dinner

Mike relied on a lot of take aways for his dinner, frequently eating Chinese food and other quick and easy options.

After

Mike credits the success of his diet to being able to eat a lot of the same foods, but just in a healthier way.

His favourite Slimming World meal is beef, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes, served with Slimming World style chips or potatoes.

"I get beef from my local butchers which is about 3% fat. I cook mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes in Fry Light with an OXO cube over the top.

"And as it is simmering I will add in beef stock and pour it over the top and let it simmer and it makes it more tender."

"I do a Chinese curry, a fried rice, or pork. Sometimes I do a special fried rice with veg and mushrooms.

"It is stuff that you would eat normally but you cook it in a different way."

Mike's health was starting to suffer because of his weight

Mike and his wife Deborah have also gone away on holiday four times since he started Slimming World - breaks that he would treat as time off and which would average a weight gain of around 8lb a time.

"If I didn't go on holiday  I bet I could have done reached my target a lot sooner, but its important to enjoy yourself when you're away."

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."