Whenever Jane Simmons built up motivation to lose weight something would get in her way.

She had an underactive thyroid and suffered from coeliac disease, which limited the foods she could eat.

In 2013 she injured herself in a nasty fall, which stopped her from exercising.

At her heaviest she weighed 225lbs.

But these days Mrs Simmons, a mother of two, is looking and feeling like a dramatically different person.

She has managed to lose 75lbs and keep the weight off by eating right and getting help from a dietitian and personal trainer.

“For years I kept saying I want to lose weight and tried everything — Weight Watchers, the Herbalife shakes — and they all worked for a short while,” Mrs Simmons, 51, said.

“I tried starving myself, detoxing and using the pills.

“Then a couple of years ago I realised I really had to get serious about losing weight because I was about to turn 50. I knew if I didn’t do something it wouldn’t be a good year.”

She was determined to try things “the right way”. She went to see a doctor and a dietitian but was then hit with a double whammy.

In September 2013, she broke her left ankle and sprained her right in a fall. A month later, she discovered she had a bilateral pulmonary embolism, a blood clot on both sides of her lungs.

“That was the big wake-up call of my life because doctors told me they weren’t sure if I’d make it,” Mrs Simmons said.

“That was such a life-altering event for me and taught me that I can’t really just sit back and make excuses about my health. Granted the embolism wasn’t my fault, but being overweight didn’t help.”

She gradually changed what and how she ate.

Vegetables replaced half a plate of potatoes at dinner.

“My husband [Kim Simmons] was really awesome and made all my meals for me,” she said. “I was able to lose 30lbs before I could even walk or exercise again.

“I was on crutches for six months and in a cast for four months, so I had to eat the right foods.”

She began keeping a journal of everything she ate and signed up for a fitness challenge organised by her church, Radnor Road Christian Fellowship.

“When I found out about the challenge I thought ‘why not?’. I had already started losing weight and figured I might as well get into exercising because I hate that part of it.

“I’ve never been an athlete. To me, exercise is hard work. But the challenge was twice a week and they would always switch things up.

“One week it would be Pilates, another week circuit training. We also did some walking and that really kept me motivated because we were doing it in a group and it’s people I know, so it was really fun. After those three months I had lost another 19lbs.”

Mrs Simmons is just one dress size away from her goal of fitting into a size eight.

But she admitted she does not always notice how far she has come. “My friends and colleagues at Ariel Re tell me off about that,” she said.

“I have had a really hard time seeing what everyone else sees. I don’t feel like I’m quite there yet, but I’m very proud of myself and don’t want to go backwards.

“With my support system from my trainer [Betty Doyling], dietitian, family and friends, I won’t go back. I just have to keep remembering what I’ve learnt and how I feel.

“I like being able to wear certain dresses and don’t want to be in big clothes any more.

“I’m feeling a lot more confident, standing up straighter and looking in the mirror that I used to avoid.

“I feel really, really great and am trying to celebrate where I am, even though it’s not the end yet. I also have lots more energy than I used to. I couldn’t walk through town before without huffing and puffing, or walk up steps. I can do those things now.”

Mrs Simmons encourages anyone hoping to get fit to start small.

“It’s all about baby steps,” she said. “You may have to do some things you don’t want to do, but do it anyway. It does get easier.”

Betty Doyling’s fitness column, page 11