What made you realise you needed to lose weight?

For me it was health. It was like everything was falling apart. I think it's the magical age you hit, most women are concerned. I had high blood pressure and was taking so much medication. For me it was an accumulation of things happening around me until I hit that point.

I'd been extremely stressed and ended up with pneumonia and I couldn't get rid of it. I couldn't climb up the steps, it was hard to put socks on and I couldn't breathe. I had done three rounds of antibiotics and I was looking at hospitalisation. I thought, 'Wow, I need to get the weight off'.

How did you do it?

Herbal Magic. To be honest with you, I think when you're ready to do it, your ready to do it. Previous diets restricted consumption of food where this teaches you that you have to eat properly. You have to eat three meals a day, you can't skip. You need large amounts of the proper stuff.

For me this wasn't a diet. I was overwhelmed with the food they were bringing in. It wasn't a matter of depriving myself. It was matter of learning that eating the proper foods was actually more than what I was giving myself. It was like I'd never lost so much weight and eaten so much food. It was boosting my metabolism. When you diet and take things away, you slow your metabolism down and it becomes harder. Its not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

You take herbal capsules only to curb the appetite. Everyone's programme is individualised. You eat regular food purchased at the grocery store. They encourage fresh or frozen, low sodium, no sugar. I eat very little, only natural sugar.

The plan is called Quick loss 1, 2 and 3. The phases are all the same. It's just a matter of playing with food groups. First started with three proteins a day like meat, cottage cheese, it could be a dairy or protein, two eggs, five ounces of fish or chicken, four ounces of red meat. You can't have red meat back to back. You have to have 48 hours in between red meats. It's expensive, I found my grocery bill went up.

You have to have three servings of vegetables, three fruits, three proteins, two dairy, two fats like a teaspoon of margarine, mayonnaise or olive oil. The mayonnaise has to be light or fat free. For the two starch, they preferred you use a diet bread, two slices of diet bread or one whole-wheat bread. You get one free exchange like three cups of unbuttered popcorn, skim milk pudding, spaghetti sauce, glass of wine or one ounce of liquor. It's really not a diet, it's about making healthy choices.

I hate exercise and I did not exercise for the first 70 pounds I lost. What I found was I had fat wing arms and my stomach was saggy. The weight loss is great, but if you think your going to have the body of the model, you can forget it.

I've had a tummy tuck and a breast reduction. It looks great when the clothes are on, but when you take them off, the skin is saggy, baggy.

I've lived a life of obesity. My preference and what I did mostly was aqua-fit. There are three one-hour sessions a week. It's basically aerobic exercise in a pool. It seems to be easier on the body.

I went to the gym and did Pilates classes, tried to learn salsa dancing. You have to switch it up because your body gets used to it if your doing the same thing over and over. One day a week, I do the treadmill and elliptical machines and weight machines for cardio. All my exercises are cardio. I try to walk as much as I can. When I was obese, I didn't walk at all.

I started at 277 pounds and went down to 156 pounds. I fluctuate about 15 pounds but that's my limit. It took two-and-a-half years to lose the weight. The first 60 pounds came off in the first six months.

I'm realistic to realise that I'm 45. I don't want look like a supermodel, I just want to add years to my life. I was surprised at how easy this was for me. But I was at a point where I said 'I wanna live, I don't want to die'. You only have one life, you have to look after this body. The biggest thing I miss, despite pasta, is soup with crackers. It's a small sacrifice even if you can get two more years.

What was it costing you to be overweight?

It cost more to try and maintain the weight now. Before I would eat a hot-dog and fries or a dinner from a box was fine. I can't eat that stuff any more.

You can't put a price on your health. I'm better off healthy. It's cheaper for me to buy clothing. I use to have to look for 4x or 5x and take it whether I liked it or hated it. I'm kind of a junkie now. I can get anything now. I'm like a size 12 now and it's like wow! Even bras are cheaper. It cost more in grocery money. But I cut my meds in half since losing weight. It's going to be big time savings down the road. I think that is why we're an obese society, because it's cheaper to be fat.

How soon did you notice a change?

Immediately. I was averaging in the beginning almost four pounds a week. They guarantee you two pounds a week. If you lose it too fast you won't keep it off. I heard about Herbal Magic with ads on radio. I was at a point where I had to do something. I tried many fad diets like Atkins. I learned you're better off having a great big bowl of salad or fruit than a small fries and a small cheeseburger.

I've been successful with the Herbal Magic but I think I was in the mindset where I would have made anything work. In order to be successful you have to want it, you have to do it for you and no one else.

What are the biggest changes for you?

I don't have a big enough closet any more! I've never had that variety. From the time I was a teenager, I was over 200 pounds. Now to have that choice, I'm like a kid turned lose in a candy store. I have a lot more energy and find myself saying 'Wow, I would have never done that before'. Things like going for walks after supper.

For me, I still feel like the same old me. I still feel big. It's a transformation I don't see. When you've been over 200 pounds for 30 years, I still feel the same other than I have all this energy that I would have never done before.

I walk up to Herbal Magic everyday and get weighed. I'm in the gym by 10 in the morning for my 10.30 class until 11.30. I use the hot tub and Jacuzzi, it's my time. I get a hot shower and I pamper myself. I take my time and enjoy the gym. It's a really friendly facility just having adult companionship. We're all fighting the battle of the bulge and trying to stay healthy. I'm home at 1 p.m.

Before, I would skip breakfast, lounge around, watch TV, play on the computer, get up and have humongous brunch of junk and just sit around basically. I've always been a housewife.

Did you have any setbacks? How did you overcome them?

I think the only thing I wasn't aware of and really hadn't planned on was all the saggy skin you're left with after. You stretch your skin for that long, there's no way it's going to come back. I did have the expense of some surgery, it's very expensive. I was always heavy chested and I did not lose the breast with the weight. I had it done because of a lot of back pain. I started looking hunchback. After the surgery, the headaches were gone instantly. I debated about the tummy tuck. My breast reduction was covered through Canadian Health Care. I couldn't have full tummy tuck (covered).

You look great until you take your clothes off and you look like Frankenstein. I saw it on talk shows as well. It was a setback but it was worth it. The doctor said if I hadn't done aqua fit, I would have had enough skin on my stomach and the government would have paid for it. Other than that, I can't say there's a downside whatsoever. I don't want to go back to what I was. I have an old picture of myself on fridge.

Are you happy with your weight?

I'm within my 15-pound window. It's come on over the past year and a half with little cheats here and there and I had stopped going to the gym. I can't just do it with food and unfortunately I hate exercise. Look, you can't do this with just dieting, you have to exercise. You don't have to kill yourself. Even if I walk around the block every night after supper. That's all it requires. You have to make time for yourself because you are worth it.

If you had a favourite meal before losing the weight, can you eat it now?

I love food. What I miss the most is my pasta lasagne dishes and spaghetti. I've done it maybe twice in the past year. I just don't do it. I'd just as soon not have any. You can have it on the diet but only a small portion and then of course you want it accompanied with garlic bread and Caesar salad. You're better off having fries and a burger than having a Caesar salad.

What's your favourite weight loss meal?

My Parmesan chicken with a baked potato and salad. On the potato I just put fat free sour cream. The chicken dish has skim milk mozzarella with healthy choice spaghetti sauce. For a dessert, I make a banana meringue. You put bananas in bottom of pie plate, take three fat free vanilla pudding cups and spread over the top two beaten egg whites with a tiny bit Splenda then bake until meringue browns.

I mostly watch fats, sugar and carbs and you have to look at the serving size.

Are there any diets you would recommend?

My husband and my daughter have lost a significant amount of weight and they're not on the product. I say eating healthy and making healthy choices. Follow the food pyramid. Buy fresh or frozen produce. I don't buy any deli meat, only lean cuts of meat. I think if you exercise and eat healthily, the weight will come off on its own. My husband lost 40 pounds with me just eating what I was eating. My daughter and husband, both lost without using the herbal stuff, just following the food guide. They were definitely, like... minimal exercise.

Does the whole family eat healthy?

My family eats what I eat. I don't have a lot of willpower. I just can't have that stuff in the house. My youngest boy doesn't eat candy or cookies or sweets. The middle child is the potato chip junkie. Every once in a while I'll have a diet bar, the chocolate ones and the diet allows diabetic, no sugar hard candies so I keep a handful in purse.

Can you eat out?

Yes! I try to pick baked or broiled entrees or grilled. I ask for salad dressing or sauces on the side. Most restaurants are aware. I try to pick a chicken dish, baked potato over fries. I usually don't take a starch, just double the veggies. I leave the bread alone or ask them not to bring the bread. I will drink a lot of lemon water before I eat and I make sure I have a couple of glasses after with lemon.

What do you eat on a daily basis?

I don't feel deprived. Breakfast is usually like a breakfast burrito with soft tortilla, eggs, cup of veggies or half cup, mushrooms and onion and a little cheddar,

For lunch if I haven't had a lot of veggies, I'll have a salad and fruit. For supper, I have a protein, two veggies and a starch.

I drink lots of water and herbal teas. I can have coffee but I'm not a coffee drinker. I can have any diet drinks, diet soda, but you have to get eight glasses of water a day.

It's real food. I tried Weight Watchers but they don't teach you to eat healthy, it's all about points. I failed on a lot of diets and I think it's because I was never taught proper amounts about portions.

Any advice for people who want to lose weight?

If I can do it anybody can do it. I was the biggest coach potato. I was always told I was going to be big and I had to deal with it. I think it's a matter of if you believe in yourself, you can do it. I think that's where Herbal Magic helped me. You have to go in a minimum of three times a week to be weighed. It's that support system. People who are successful at losing weight generally have a friend or somebody who goes with them to support them. My family supported me.