Losing weight has given 78-year-old Cynthia Hillyard a new lease of life. There's no stopping retired Cynthia now as she goes on trips in her classic 40-year-old T25 camper van and has won 35 trophies for roping, knife-thowing and axe-throwing during her exciting travels with The British Westerns Association, which holds camps every year, and is a group of enthusiasts of American history from 1700 to the present day.
Cynthia has lost one stone 7lb, and is reaping the health benefits as she is now a slim 10 stone 3lb. A mother of two sons, who lives in Keyworth, she told Nottinghamshire Live: "Because of my age, I don't want to lose any more. I am a lot healthier. I had high cholesterol and did not want to go on Statins.
"That's why I joined a slimming group, and my cholesterol has gone down. The weight loss has helped with my osteoarthritis.
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"I was very embarrassed - my legs were so big, but with losing the weight, they have slimmed down. I had a lot of pain in my left knee. Everyday the hospital sends me two exercises to do. I have absolutely no pain now.
"Before I wasn't eating properly; I would just be nibbling snacky things. Now, every night I cook a meal, and I have vegatables and fruit. I don't drink.
"It's given me a new lease of life and massive health benefits, and I have got to my target weight. I go line-dancing every other week". Cynthia's life really is remarkable and fun.
She drivers her Volkswagen camper van - bought for £2,000 in 1983 - to the Western association events all over the country. With no power steering, she jokes, driving her van is "physical work!"
With her husband who died 12 years ago, they had a wonderful time in the sought-after fully-equipped van, spending months in France, but now trips are only in the UK as the van, nicknamed Fagin's Spirit (a Western name), "is getting old".
She is a member of 'Nifty Fifties' - on a Tuesday at the Portland Centre., Nottingham, where users go the gym, sports hall, squash courts, and pool, can play badminton, indoor bowls and table tennis. And she goes, walking, swimming, and does archery and even javelin - not bad for a woman classed as a pensioner!
Michelle Tinlin, Cynthia's Slimming World mentor, who runs two groups in Keyworth on a Monday night, said: "Cynthia joined the Keyworth group in March 2022 and - five months later - has lost an incredible one-and-a-half stone, of course reaching her dream weight.
"She is always off on adventures"
"Like so many of my members, they come in completely different people as to when they reach their target. Cynthia is like Wonder Woman, she really is, she wears you out just by listening to her exciting life.
"She is always off on adventures. She has got a 40-year-old camper van - and is a axe-throwing champion. She does roping, line-dancing, swimming, walking, archery, horse riding, shooting javelin. just to mention a few!
"What an inspiration! But I could not be more proud of her after her recent trip to Dallas. She had the confidence - and why shouldn't she - to post me a picture of her on holiday in a swimsuit. You know what, she looked absolutely incredible.
"The group love her. The Keyworth group is just like one big happy family. Cynthia is always there to help. It's often with members, when you reach your target weight, you want to share that. You want to encourage other people to get a little piece of that feeling - if it was something you could bottle, you could make an absolute fortune.
"Cynthia a real pleasure to have in group and somebody I consider a valued friend now".
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