A woman who developed diabetes when her weight doubled to 20 stone has managed to rid herself of the condition by shedding the pounds.

Tracey Albert hit a low point in her life five years ago when her marriage broke down and she was diagnosed as bipolar, giving her ferocious mood swings.

She lost her confidence and her job as a successful manger for a under-floor heating company.

Scroll down for video

The 46-year-old said: “All I wanted to do was sleep. I was very depressed, I didn’t want to go outside or see friends and within a few months I went from a slender size 10, to a huge size 26.”

Because of her morbid obesity Tracey, from Odo Rise in Gillingham, developed type 2 diabetes and was diagnosed February of this year.

Her weight put her at serious risk of further complications including loss of sight, and even death.

The mum-of-three said: “It affects your feet as well, and any cuts or sores don’t held properly. I got to a point where I needed a real kick up the bum, and being diagnosed really frightened me. My family were worried for me as well and I wanted to be around for my three grandchildren, so I had to lose the weight.”

Tracey was put on medication in the early stages and joined an intense six week course with the NHS on changing attitude towards food and exercise.

Video: Tracey talks about her battle against weight gain and diabetes

She also downloaded a calorie counter app on her phone to keep a track of things. In just a few months the stones had fallen off her and she lost five dress sizes, making her the UK’s most common size of 16.

She also managed to ‘reverse’ her diabetes and is now completely off medication and no longer at risk – unless her weight was to rocket again.

Tracey upped the exercise and steered clear of ‘bad carbs’ like white bread and crisps. She replaced them will small portions of healthy alternatives like brown rice and added more vegetables and salads to her diet.

She said: “It was a hard to adjust to the diet at first, but it soon became second nature and easy.

"I can’t praise the NHS programme enough, it completely changed what I knew about food. Before I would grab a supermarket sandwich without a thought but learning about hidden carbs, I now know most of them have more calories than an entire roast dinner.”

Tracey is now looking to get back into work and continue her weight loss to get back down to her original size 10.