“I’ve thrown out all my larger clothes, and I have no intention of ever being able to fit in them again.”

Romford Recorder: Diane Sampson before she lost weightDiane Sampson before she lost weight (Image: Archant)

These are the words of determined Romford slimmer Diane Sampson, who’s shed six stone and six pounds in seven months.

This isn’t the first time customer service manager Diane has put her mind to losing weight – 13 years ago, she spent a year losing six stone so she could fit into a bridesmaid’s dress.

But since then the pounds have slowly crept back on.

So to make sure the weight stays off this time, the Romside Place resident signed up to a programme that included counselling as well as dieting – Natalee Connally’s “LighterLife” class in Loughton.

“I now understand my triggers for eating, such as comfort and boredom,” said Diane, 36. “And via the counselling I’ve learnt a lot about myself.

“My job is pretty full-on and can be quite stressful. LighterLife has helped me redress my work-life balance and place value on some time just for me.”

The diet itself is a big commitment – at its height, Diane replaced all food with four “food packs” per day, which had to be made up with hot water.

She was worried this would pose some basic practical problems – but said she was surprised by how easy it proved.

“One of my big worries was how I would cope when eating out in restaurants – just ordering water, or asking for hot water to make a food pack up with,” she admitted.

“But every restaurant was completely fine with me and my dining companions understood and were totally supportive.”

When Diane reached her target of 10st 12lb she was able to come off the food packs and start eating normally again.

For some, this would have been a temptation to overindulge – but Diane had already had already practised her self-discipline a few months earlier.

“I’d had to come off the diet for four weeks to have an operation on my shoulder,” she explained.

“The first food I had was grilled chicken with roasted vegetables, which my friend had cooked for me – and I found I could eat so much less before getting full than I could before the diet.

“I didn’t crave food like I had done – which I put down to the counselling sessions.”

For more information about LighterLife, visit www.lighterlife.com.