Is a busy schedule your excuse for not committing to a healthy weight-loss programme? Sorry, but that just doesn't wash! Once you read this super success story on super-busy Suzanne MacKenzie, you'll realise there is always enough time for a healthy lifestyle

This successful edieter has plenty on her plate: she works a 12-hour shift, takes care of two young children and helps out at a school. But not even the heaviest workload stopped Suzanne from finding time to whittle away a whopping five stones.

By the time she started her ediet last February, Suzanne weighed in at just over 16 stones. The mum-of-two was frustrated by the fact she couldn't keep up with her girls, Sam, now four, and Erica, now six. She feared that when Erica started school she would suffer the embarrassment of having the 'fat mummy'.

The turning point, however, came when Suzanne's grandmother passed away last January. For years, she had tried to push Suzanne towards a healthier lifestyle. So it was in her grandmother's death that our featured dieter found a new reason to live life at a more healthy weight.

5'8" Suzanne now stands a fit and fabulous 11 stones. Trendy size 12 clothes have replaced her old size 22/24 outfits. And Suzanne says all she needed to do was take the weighty matters into her own hands.

'I had to become a little selfish,' the 29-year-old tells eDiets. 'I thought 'Look, I need one hour a day for me and I'm taking it!' It takes guts. When you're used to giving all your spare time, it's hard not to feel guilty.

What Suzanne needed was a plan that would fit her shifting work schedule - some days 7am to 7pm, other days 7pm to 7am. With time working against her, edieting was just the thing she needed - a weight-loss programme with support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The best part - everything could be done from the comfort of her home.

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Most other diets had fizzled out after only a few weeks. But Suzanne just knew edieting would be different. She resolved to do whatever it took to be a slimming success. That meant breaking the bad habits that had led to her battle of the bulge.

'The hardest thing to overcome was not eating at night,' she tells us. 'When supper was over that was it for the day. Years ago, we would order pizza at 9pm. I had to work on keeping meals to certain times and not snack all day, which is difficult when you have little kids who tend to graze.'

Couple that with her rotating 7-to-7 work schedule and it was pretty clear Suzanne was fighting against the odds. Yet, she refused to let obstacles stand in her way.

She notes: 'I mostly made my own meals. When you're working 12-hour shifts, you're eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at work. You need something that's easy to prepare and travels well.'

'Like everything else it took a while to get used to. But I found myself craving healthier things. I'm a picky eater to start with which is why a lot of diets didn't work for me.'

Suzanne also resorted to little tricks to keep on track. For instance, she didn't bring money to work. That way she could forget about the vending machines and eat only the healthy food she brought. Suzanne admits being on the job helped her avoid the snacking temptation she faced at home. She also made sure she prepared dinner every night, instead of ordering out.

When it came to fitting in exercise, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet could keep her down. On nice days, she used both work breaks to take 20-minute walks. When going outside wasn't an option, Suzanne relied on aerobics videos.

edieting met Suzanne's needs. Instead of turning to food for comfort, she chose to go to the support boards instead.

'Just knowing that other members are there and going through the same thing helped,' Suzanne says. 'When I needed a chocolate bar, there was someone there in minutes.'

Her hard work and determination paid off. Suzanne no longer has to worry about being the 'fat mum'. Nor does she have to shop in the plus-size department. Things that at one time seemed so out of reach have become a reality.

She's no longer afraid to dress in trendy outfits and she's trying new sports. But above all, her top priority is to maintain her weight loss.

'Losing is the short-term goal,' says Suzanne, who's been maintaining for eight weeks now. 'Keeping it off for the rest of your life is the long-term goal.'

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