AN American in Bradford has managed to beat her eating habits to lose three stone in nine months.

Michelle Midgley, 35, of Queensbury, moved to the city in 2011 after meeting "the love of her life" who she married in 2012.

The Californian had managed to control, what she describes as, her "dirty little secret" back in America, after attending her first Weight Watchers meeting across the pond in 2009.

But, a number of life challenges led Mrs Midgley to comfort eating and in April 2016 she weighed in at 15 stone.

The trigger moment came in the summer of 2017 and the American decided to get back on the Weight Watchers programme by signing up to local meetings in Queensbury.

She said: “Weight Watchers gave me back control, not the dirty little secret control, but real control over my food and eating habits."

Since losing the weight, and shrinking from a size 16/18 to a 8/10, Mrs Midgley says she is noticeably less angry and irritable, especially when shopping for clothes or dressing for special events.

She counts two particular things that really helped her reach her goal - the Weight Watchers' app, which allowed her to track her food and plan for "naughty days", and the meetings, which motivated her to keep at it consistently, as well as providing access to support and new friends.

Mrs Midgley said: "I can honestly say with this continued support, I will never be a fat girl again.”

Adele Wilkin runs the meetings that Mrs Midgley attends and admitted the whole group, including herself, were behind their transatlantic cousin throughout her journey so far.

She said: “It's been an absolute pleasure to support our very own Amercian girl to her weight loss goals.

"The scream that went out at my scales when Michelle achieved her gold award would have probably been heard in the USA, followed by tears of joy and a huge cheer from all of the class. It makes my job so worthwhile.”

For more information on Weight Watchers visit: weightwatchers.com/uk/