Rachel, 37, has gone from a size 20 to a size 14, and from puffing to get up a flight of stairs to climbing mountains at the weekend!
Here's how she got from there to here.
"I had been watching the Australian Biggest Loser on TV and I saw the ad for The Biggest Loser Club. I checked it out, thought it looked pretty good and decided I’d give it a go. The website had a couple of strong motivation factors for me. First, the site makes you weigh in each week – I knew that putting in those numbers would really spur me on – and second, I could do it in the privacy of my own home – I felt very comfortable with that. I also thought it was very cheap compared to the Weight Watchers program."
For Rachel, it was all about making The Club work for her in ways she enjoyed. "I was worried about fitting in exercise during my day; I work full-time, I’m a single mother and I found getting started really hard. What made it easier was that I could pick from The Club's three different exercise regimes and then down the track, I could tailor them for me. Learning to love exercise was a big one for me. I started by just walking around the neighbourhood and now it’s at the stage where I’m climbing mountains; it’s really fantastic! I do a lot of hiking and trekking at the weekend. During the week, I get up in the morning and do an aerobics DVD before I go to work."
It wasn't just getting fit that Rachel got so enthusiastic about, she also got into a whole new way of healthy eating. "I loved the menus. My fridge had never seen so much fresh fruit and vegies! I've learned how to prepare food in a whole new tasty and low-fat way. Now, I don’t even have to print the menus now that I've used them so many times. The whole family has had a change of diet. The recipes are great, especially the chilli beef and beans – that was my favourite – and the smoked salmon pizza, it’s such an easy one to whip up! The food is so yummy, I couldn’t fault it!"
Rachel didn't just stop at diet and exercise, she also gave up alcohol while she was aiming for her goal weight. "My job is very stressful so I would have a couple of glasses of wine every night and I would eat a big packet of chips, which helped me stack on the weight. I made the decision to drop this entirely and that was incredibly hard. But, in the first two weeks, I lost a fair chunk of weight which kept me going. In week four, I didn’t lose any weight and I was devastated because I'd been following the plan to the letter. But, I kept going and soon enough had a breakthrough."
Over 20 kilos lighter, today, Rachel is thrilled with the results of her determination. "Now I feel fantastic. Prior to starting The Biggest Loser Club I was wearing a size 20 and now I’m wearing a 14, which I don’t think I have done since I was 14! Buying clothes off the rack and being on holidays and getting out in my bathers – it’s all great. I used to get out of puff going up the stairs but now I can run up and down them a couple of times. You should see me go!"