Jane Gibson is half the woman she used to be.
And she couldn't be happier.
The Waitati support worker is now skinny odds to win Australasia's biggest loser title, after shedding 75kg.
''I don't know how I got that big. I just never saw it,'' she said last week. ''That person is not me anymore.''
Now a trim 65.7kg, Ms Gibson was announced this month as a semifinalist in the 2013 Weight Watchers Healthy Life Awards.
''I was very surprised. I lost more weight than anybody else in New Zealand or Australia, but a lot of people had really inspiring stories, whereas I joined Weight Watchers to support a client who wanted to lose weight.''
Ms Gibson (35) began her battle with the bulge in November 2011, when she tipped the scales at 140.7kg.
''I averaged 1kg to 1.9kg losses every week and hit my goal weight of 75kg a year to the day after I joined Weight Watchers. It's about setting yourself little goals and not just focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel. You lose 5%, then 10% and then go the next size down in jeans.''
Last September, she completed the Moro half-marathon.
''I am proud of what I've achieved. It shows people that it's not a pie-in-the-sky dream, that it is obtainable.''
However, there was a downside to downsizing, she said.
''I've had people snub me because they don't recognise me any more. Even co-workers have walked past me at work looking for Jane.
''It also took a long time getting my head around going into shops and trying on smaller sizes. I've gone from a size 26 to a size 8 and I've had to change my wardrobe several times over. I hate to think what it has cost. I've become a very good bargain-hunter,'' she said, laughing.
''I've got a boot fetish now, too. I wear boots just about every day. I didn't used to be able to wear boots, because I couldn't do the laces up.''
A South Island and North Island finalist will be selected at the end of the month to join five Australian finalists in Sydney for the slimmer of the year final in September.
