This is the story of one iVillager who completed the Shape Up Challenge, lost more weight than she ever expected and made new friends in the process

My hubby and I have lived in Blackpool for four years now and love it. We'd been out for a wander and I was feeling quite sensitive about my size that day. I'd tried to put on a blouse that had fit a few weeks before, only to find I'd outgrown it. Many larger people will tell you that when you feel big, you only seem to notice those women who are model sizes. Believe me, there are hundreds of them who come to Blackpool each weekend. By the time we got home that night, I was feeling pretty miserable.

Even though we're now both 40, my husband is still the same size and shape as when he was 21. In July this year, I was 5' 3' and weighed 15 stone/2lb, with a 43-inch waist. I just hated myself. That night, while surfing the Net, I found iVillage and the Shape Up Challenge. I read through it first, then decided to give it a go.

Because I was still beating myself up over being fat, I posted a message on the Shape Up message board explaining how I hated my body, my face, everything. The following day I got up early and read everything I'd printed off from the Challenge. I was determined to change. I got hubby up early and off we went to Tesco. I needed supplies.

We spent three hours shopping - reading every label - and came home with bags of healthy food. It had been ages since I'd spent any time in my kitchen, as we eat out most days. But I didn't have to really give up anything. Even now, I buy Cubed Steak and Minced Steak, Pork Loin Steaks, all Tesco Healthy Eating (H/E) brands. Apart from this, we eat a lot of chicken breasts and turkey.

Later that day, I logged on to iVillage and went to see if I'd received a response to my post. Imagine my surprise when I saw about six answers for me. They were so lovely, I cried.

Once I started the Challenge, I became obsessed over the following weeks. I wrote down everything I planned to eat the following day on the night before. Then the next day, if I hadn't written down a particular food, I didn't eat it. I counted calories, bought new digital bathroom and kitchen scales and weighed everything - I was learning.

The best news of all was that I started losing weight. I'd been on several diets over the past three years and I'd never lost weight before. But with the Challenge, I was eating all through the day and still having nice meals at night. Hubby and I also bought bikes and went out for a 16-mile ride - bad mistake - I had blisters in places where I had no right to have blisters.

All of these experiences I shared with my newfound friends on the board. We laughed and cried together. Some of us have exchanged instant messenger names and chat each night. Others of us have swapped mobile numbers and we text each other every day. This weekend I have two or three of the girls I met on the board coming to stay. Most importantly, I have learnt to carry the board around with me in my head. I log on each and every day without fail. Even if I don't post, I still read all the new ones. It's become so important to me to make sure certain girls are feeling okay or that others haven't left the board.

One day, however, the inevitable happened. Hubby and I had a row. I stomped off to town, really sulking. 'I'll show him,' I thought, 'I'll have a blow-out at McDonalds.' When I got there, it smelled atrocious, and I knew I couldn't do it. I walked over to M&S since they do a selection of quick-cook, feel-good meals. I got a basket and headed off to put together a huge comfort dinner. I picked up a steak pie and before I knew what I was doing, I'd read the label. Fat content was through the roof, as were the calories. I wanted to cry. I thought of all the folks on the boards, what they'd say when I'd confessed, how loving and forgiving they'd be. I couldn't let them down. I chose healthy foods and 'pigged out' on a meal of 400 calories. I hated every mouthful that night and felt so angry at the board - if I hadn't become a member, I could have eaten loads and nobody would have known. Of course, this was a silly way of thinking since I didn't have to tell anyone else. But, because we're all so honest with each other, I wouldn't have been able to keep it from them.

Looking back, I know that even if I had 'fallen off the wagon', it wouldn't have been the end of the world. But maybe that particular week I wouldn't have lost any weight. It would not have been the end of my of my healthy eating, just a case of me making the wrong choices at the wrong time.

Anyhow, I'm 10 weeks along now and I've lost two stone. This morning's weight was 13stone, 2lbs. My waist is now 36 inches - that's a massive seven inches lost. My hips have gone from 53 to 46 inches - another seven gone. Before the Challenge, I was wearing (and filling) elasticated size 20 trousers. To be quite honest, I was probably a size 24, but because of stretchy waistbands, I could get away with wearing a size 20. Now I'm nearly a size 18, my trousers are loose and my jeans are discarded as they're too big. The 'shelf' has gone from the top of my bum - I swear you could have balanced a coffee cup on it before. Three months ago, I looked like I had a couple of pit bull terriers fighting down the back of my trousers when I walked, along with a pair of fighting ferrets down my bra if I ran. My weight is mostly concentrated around my torso, upper arms and thighs - I've got slightly smaller 'bingo wings' (the flabby bits on the bottom of your upper arms), but I'm working on those. I do however have gorgeous size 10 ankles.

I can walk up the stairs to bed at night without standing outside the bedroom door trying to get my breathing under control, for fear of waking hubby. I've bought an elliptical trainer and spend evenings on it while watching television - my legs don't even wobble anymore when I get off.

The best thing about the Challenge is that you can read everything that's suggested but you don't have to stick to it rigidly. If you find something that works for you, then that's what you go with. I have tried things like meal replacements, tablets, fad diets - and they've all been a complete waste of time and money. The one thing that pulls me through day by day, week by week, is the board. The love, support and encouragement there is unbelievable. The nice thing about it, is that no matter what time of the day or night, if you post a message, there will always be someone around to give you a 'hug'. Or answer questions - even taboo ones, like why I'm getting huge spots in odd places like on my foot.

I'm aiming to get down to 10 stone by my birthday next February. It's a bit of a tall order though, so I'm extending it to April. I know I still have a lot of work in front of me, but I don't intend to give up the board - even when the weight has gone. It will still be nice to help other people who are where I was back in July, and it will help me to maintain my new weight.

The Shape Up Challenge helped change my life forever and I'm very grateful. More importantly, Hubby is grateful - he's now got a wife who is still overweight, but looking forward to being slim again and spending all his money on new clothes. And he says to tell you, that he loves me very much and is also grateful to iVillage for doing 'the impossible'.

I intend to keep my folder with all my Challenge memorabilia - my diaries, my weight records, etc., as a reminder for the future. If ever I start to put weight back on, I shall whizz it out to have an inspirational read. From now on, I intend to get fit and healthy and stay that way.