Jacquline weighed 22st 10lb. Wore a size 32 top and 28-30 bottom and now Jacquline weighs 9 stone 12lbs and is a size 10-12.

Everything has changed in my life since losing the weight. Before, work was my only comfort… I was a total workaholic. All I did was get up in the morning go to work, work late, do overtime and then go home and eat badly. I hardly went out because I did not feel good about myself and also the hassle of trying to find nice clothes to wear, but if you see me now it is completely different.

What initially started me off on finally getting to grips with my weight was when I was at work one day and I was on my twelveth can of cola and trying to hide the tins. Also seeing a family video I did in 2002 at our Christmas dinner, I looked terrible and took up most of the lense of the video camera. It was so embarrassing, I knew I could not keep going on like this. I tried all kinds of fad diets that were out there from pills to shakes and though I lost weight I could never maintain the loss. I was at a depressing time in my life I did not know where to turn, until finally I heard about Gastric Banding.

I had a gastric band in 2004 and lost an awful lot of weight but really wasn’t exercising as I didn’t know how to or have the confidence to do it – I was always thinking that people in the gym would be looking at me. Even though I had the Gastric Band done I never relied on it totally because it was there just as a tool not the cure. There were always ways to kind of cheat with it and I must place my hands on heart, I did cheat. I hadn’t learnt and didn’t know anything about nutrition and struggled on what was healthy, when is best to eat etc. which is one of the things with Gastric Bands – the lack of actual education.

With this is mind and the fact I had hit a plateau, I stumbled across an article with Jade Goody and other celebrities attending a weight loss boot camp that promised to kick start weight loss and educate about nutrition and exercise… so I signed up to the New You Boot Camp week and trained with military trainers, worked with the nutrition squad to devise a plan on how to eat and exercise once I had left the camp so all my hard work would not undone.

I came to New You Boot Camp 12st, when I left I was 11st 3lb. Since boot camp I have continued with the exercise and now know what to eat. I have lost nearly another two stone taking me down to 9stone 12lbs. I never thought I’d ever be in my 9 stones ever… Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

When I came to New You Boot Camp I was a size 16 and now I am fitting comfortably in sizes 12 and 10.

I wish now I had gone to boot camp before the band was fitted as it was the education I was lacking! Not only did I come to terms with my new slimmer self when I left boot camp I now have so much more confidence.

All I do now is socialise – so much. I do my workouts, I play netball, umpire, meet up with friends, go to events and anything else I can find. I feel young again I’m starting my life all over again, but I will always, and I mean always, remember how I was and how I looked. When I see those who may be suffering with obesity, it reminds me of myself not so long ago. I will never forget it.

Now my next task is to try and get my daughter and her father to train with me once in a while, but that is another chapter in my life.

One other thing, it is funny though when you are of a big size you never take any pictures, but now I want to because I just cannot believe my eyes of how much weight I have lost…

Thank you Sunny and Jacqui for your constant on-going support after boot camp, believing in me and putting me back on track when I went wobbly!*