Shrinking Susie's secrets

Susie Flack is half the woman she used to be after making losing weight her New Year's resolution.

On 1 January last year she weighed 171/2st. This New Year's Day she was 81/2st and 12 dress sizes smaller.

Like many obese people, she resolved to do something about her size because of the frequent embarrassment caused by her burgeoning weight.

She said: "I remember trying to squeeze into an aircraft seat. The stewardess insisted I wore a seatbelt extension and I sat there cringing.

"I used to hate walking into a restaurant. Dance floors were another no-go area. One of the worst things was sitting on a bus worrying if someone would need to sit next to you. It's great to blend in now as you walk down the street instead of standing out like a freak."

The housewife, 31, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, piled on the weight after giving birth to her son Thomas 10 years ago. "Even though I'm 5ft 2in, I was eating as much as my husband, who is a foot taller than me. I was also pigging out in between meals on all kinds of fattening foods."

She overhauled her unhealthy diet and adopted a tough exercise regime, running four to eight miles several times a week and working out at the gym. She will be presented with the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness magazine Slimmer of the Year 2003 title and a cheque for £2,000 this evening.

Runner-up Charmaine Dennis, 36, from Edmonton, has slimmed down from 231/2st to 11st 5lb in a year, a loss of 12st 2lb.

She, too, achieved her weight loss by eating low-fat food and exercising. Her previous failed attempts included slimming pills that left her with lockjaw and cramps in her legs. She had despaired of ever being able to lose weight.

An airline seatbelt was also the trigger for third-placed Lynne Boshier, 49, to shed weight. She was so embarrassed when the belt would not meet around her that she concealed it by draping her jacket over her middle. Ms Boshier, from Houghton Conquest, Beds, lost 11st in a year.

The male slimmer of the year is Simon Walters, 30, from Walsall, West Midlands, who ballooned to 22st12lb by eating vast quantities of chips, chocolate bars and high-fat sandwiches. His waist was 52in and he was warned that a knee problem might leave him wheelchairbound because of his obesity. He lost 101/2st in a year.