Shedding 70 pounds off her 350 pounds frame wasn't enough for Marylee Watson.

After drastically changing her diet and exercising, she has lost 102 pounds in only a year and can proudly say she is diabetes free.

Mrs. Watson received an enormous wake-up call when she was diagnosed with diabetes in October, 2006. The 44-year-old weighed in at 350 pounds and knew she had to change her ways if she wanted to live for a few more years.

She joined a diabetes class at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and began cutting out her daily favourites of chips and soda for healthier options like fruit, vegetables, fish and drinking water.

After a few months, Mrs. Watson had lost 70 pounds but wanted to lose even more. She spoke to The Royal Gazette yesterday about her weight-loss journey.

"My first target was 50 pounds and I passed that. My next target was 100 pounds in a year. By the end of last year, I was two pounds short. But then my girlfriend reminded me that I started walking in January, so I gave myself to the end of January to lose the rest."

She continued: "I'm happy but my goal for this year is to lose another 50 pounds. I've never been a small person so it will take me down to 200 pounds and I want to maintain that."

Mrs. Watson explained that even though eating right is essential to being healthy, exercise is just as important. She said exercise is a part of her life and she walks six days of the week in addition to attending aerobics classes at the Warwick Seventh-day Adventist Church a few times a week.

Mrs. Watson, who works for US Airways, says she enjoys the reaction she gets from people, especially those who haven't seen her in awhile.

"Some people who haven't seen me don't recognise me. People say how good I look and how energized I look. The other day, this woman at the Airport didn't recognise me.

"She came up to me and said, 'Is that you?'," she laughed.

In addition to her daily walking, Mrs. Watson participated in the P.A.L.S. charity walk on Sunday and the Lindo's 15-mile walk last year. She said it took her five-and-a-half hours, but she completed it and was awarded a certificate and medal.

Unfortunately, she won't be able to participate this year due to travel commitments.

She said: "In Southampton, I was ready to give up. But once I hit Paget, I knew I could make it."

Mrs. Watson admits she craves chips from time to time, but when those cravings strike, she reaches for a bag of Walkers Light chips which only have 100 calories per bag.

She also has a thing for dessert and gained four pounds over the Christmas holiday.

"At work, my supervisor made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. I knew it was bad for me but I had to have one. It felt like I was in heaven. I told everybody to please excuse me and was making all sorts of noise like 'mhmm, mhmm' because it had been a long time and it tasted so good."

Mrs. Watson says she sticks to foods like salads and pasta instead of her previous diet of hamburgers, french fries, bags of chips and fried chicken.

She goes to the diabetes centre once a month for a weigh in and as a result of changing her diet, she is now diabetes free. She still takes her medication, but hopes to be off of it by the end of the year.

Asked what advice she would give to anyone trying to lose weight, Mrs. Watson said: "Just in general for health reasons or to prevent health problems is to start looking to eat healthier and exercise.

"I thought it was going to be dramatic with the food. I thought I was always going to be hungry. All it takes is 30 minutes of walking a day."

She continued: "If we continue to be obese, we will kill ourselves. People who have children, you want to be there for them. Live healthier to have a longer life."