TWO years ago Maria Clark would use any excuse she could think of to avoid exercise.

Over weight, a session in a gym or exercise class would fill her with dread and at the time had to be avoided at all costs.

Half hearted efforts at losing pounds always ended within weeks, sometimes days.

Daily Echo:

Before long the 35-year-old’s weight has shot up to 16 stone... finally something had to give.

Two years later Maria has shed almost a third of her weight and dropped five dress sizes.

She has even taken part in a marathon cycle ride for charity that at one time would have seemed a challenge totally out of her depth.

“I was always trying to lose weight but over the years it just seemed to creep up,” explained Maria, from Woolston.

“Friends would often joke ‘it’s Monday, are you starting a diet again this week?’ And they were right, or at least that’s how it felt.”

Maria lost two stone on her own before joining her local Slimming World group, where she went on to lose another 3 and a half stone in just 9 months, taking her from 16 stone down to 10 stone 7lbs and from a dress size 18-20 to a 10-12.

“I didn’t have a real light bulb moment where I knew I had to lose weight,” said the accounts manager. “I wasn’t happy with the way I was, but I had always been quite big.

“I’ve always loved food, and I could never stick to a diet as I would cut out everything that I thought was bad and then fail after a couple of days because I was so hungry.”

Before discovering Slimming World, Maria would have biscuits or toast for breakfast, four cheese and salad cream sandwiches, crisps and chocolate for lunch and pizza, ready meals or pies for dinner. Snacks were always cake, chocolate, ice cream and fizzy drinks.

Now, a typical day sees her eat Weetabix with fruit and a low-fat yoghurt at breakfast time, tuna salad, fruit and yoghurt for lunch and chilli, filled with veg, and rice for dinner.

She snacks on fruit and still has a small chocolate bar most evenings.

“I still eat a lot, and I eat often, in fact my plate is usually overflowing, as that way I feel more energetic and focused. I drink lots of water to keep me hydrated and I feel far more in control of myself because of it,” she said.

Once Maria had got to grips with her new way of eating, she started to introduce exercise into her daily life.

And last summer, to celebrate her achievements, she completed the legendary British Heart Foundation London to Brighton 54 mile bike ride.

“At first, I didn’t do much, just taking the stairs instead of the lift, or walking into town across the Itchen Bridge instead of driving. And when my brother first asked me if I wanted to do the London to Brighton ride, I almost said no out of habit.

“But then I remembered that there was no reason why I couldn’t - so I said yes.”

Maria took more than eight hours to complete the challenge and raised £215 for the British Heart Foundation.

“I was knackered by the finish line,” she said.

“And there is a huge hill at the end that was very difficult to get up. I tore my tendon in the process but carried on.

“I am very proud of myself - it was a great achievement and I felt like I had really accomplished something that I would never have considered before. I can’t wait to do it again.”

l Maria is hoping she can inspire others to reach their goals at her Sholing Slimming World group, held at St Monica Primary School in Bay Road on Wednesdays. Classes are 5.30 and 7.30pm.