Rachel Neeley had grown sick and tired of being a larger, less active version of her old self.

The dissatisfied 32-year-old knew her body wasn't meant to be inactive. She knew she wasn't meant to be miserable. And she knew she wasn't meant to be overweight.

Yet more than a year ago, she was all of the above. Somewhere beneath her overcoat of extra pounds, there was a healthy and happy woman, screaming to be let out.

Rachel stood at 5'5" and weighed 15 stones. For far too long, she had been hiding from herself. There wasn't a mirror in her house and she camouflaged her weight under dreary colours and baggy clothes.

The working mother-of-two knew this couldn't go on forever.

A sedentary job, pregnancy weight that stayed on after the baby, plenty of huge meals followed by rich desserts... these are just a few of the ways the pounds piled on.

Now, one year after starting her e-diet, Rachel is proud of her sensational weight loss of almost four stones. At 10st 10lbs, Rachel says she's not done yet - there is still another stone between her and her goal weight.

'I like myself now,' she tells us. 'I feel like a better person - I have more patience now with my kids, I like how I look and I feel good about myself.'

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'Before, I was miserable. I had no energy and I didn't like me at all.'

'I tried doing something on my own, but I wasn't succeeding,' Rachel says. 'Then I saw an ad for eDiets. I did the profile, but I didn't know if I wanted to spend the money.

'I had never paid to diet before. I told my husband to give me a month to try it. He was extremely supportive and I never looked back once.'

Rachel was determined to follow a three-pronged attack: healthy eating, regular exercise and plenty of water. She was unsure if she would like the food, but it turned out to be love at first bite! These days she has no problem finding an assortment of healthy recipes.

Before starting her e-diet, Rachel thought chasing after her 3-year-old daughter and her 2-year-old son was enough physical activity. Luckily, it didn't take long for her to increase her activity level. She started out by walking. From there she progressed into interval walking which includes short periods (about one minute in length) of more intense walking mixed in with her normal pace.

When the weather turned cold, her husband Darren bought her a stair stepper so she could keep moving indoors. By the time this summer arrived, Darren and she were cycling and hiking.

Rachel says the more weight she lost, the easier exercising became. She now exercises five days a week for about 40 minutes at a time. Three days are reserved for toning, while others are set aside for a half-toning, half-cardio work-out.

The hard work has not only paid off, but has also given birth to an idea. Once she reaches her goal weight, Rachel plans to gain back some weight... during pregnancy!

'I want to try for a third baby next summer, but this time I want to have a very healthy pregnancy!' Rachel vows.

'I gained three stones with my first pregnancy and two stones with my second. This time I want to go through the whole process eating the right foods and keeping up on whatever exercise I can, and get right back on the plan knowing I can lose whatever I've gained. The baby and I both will benefit, I'm sure!'

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