A ROMFORD woman who struggled for years with her burgeoning waistline has found a new lease of life after losing seven stone.
Losing so much has enabled Diane Sampson to totally readdress her priorities in life.
The 35-year-old customer service manager dropped from a size 24 to a size 12 after struggling for years with her weight.
She said: "For as long as I remember I have always been overweight and quite aware of it.
"When I was 22, I was a bridesmaid for a friend and I lost six stone in a year, so I comfortably fitted into a size 10/12.
"Since then though the pounds have slowly crept back on.
"In May last year I hit a real low point, when I was due to have an operation on my shoulder.
"After psyching myself up for months, it was cancelled at the last minute due to an infection identified via blood tests.
"While my weight was never mentioned as a result of why the operation couldn't go ahead, the consultant did talk to me about the benefits of a healthy BMI.
"It also scared me a bit – there was something wrong with me and I didn't even notice.
"While I was exercising a lot, I don't think I quite realised how out of control my eating had become.
"Work was busy and stressful, so I was eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without thinking about the long-term effects."
Ms Sampson turned to the LighterLife Weight Loss Management programme, attending counsellor Natalee Connally's classes in Loughton and, when she started in June 2012, she weighed 17st 4lbs.
Undertaking the Total programme, Ms Sampson replaced ordinary eating with four specially formulated food packs per day, alongside weekly counselling sessions to assess the psychological issues behind over-eating and ensure a permanent lifestyle change.
Currently completing the management phase of the programme, she is gradually reintroducing food in a controlled manner combined with the counselling.
In seven months Diane has achieved her original goal of being able to wear size 12 clothes and now weighs 10st 12lbs.
She added: "While I'd never say that the excess weight stopped me from doing anything per se – I still exercised a lot – I do think my mind set has changed thanks to LighterLife.
"I now understand my triggers for eating, such as comfort and boredom, plus via the counselling I have learnt a lot about me.
"For example my job is pretty full-on and can be quite stressful, but LighterLife has helped me to readdress my work-life balance and place value on some time just for me.
"Equally, my fashion sense has changed quite a bit – it is really liberating to be able to shop in any high street store.
"I've thrown out all my larger clothes as I've decided this is a positive change for the rest of my life and I have no intention of ever being able to fit in them again."
