Half the woman - twice the fun
Karina Buiskool has shed more than half her body weight in 15 months. Karina has lost an incredible 13 stone to become Slimming World's Woman of the Year.
Karina - who was 25 stone and mainly lived on a diet of take-aways - will receive her prestigious award at the Ritz Hotel.
Now weighing 12 stone, the 36-yearold says her life has dramatically changed for the better.
"I feel brilliant, fitter, healthier - and I couldn't be enjoying life more as the new me. Before losing weight I was a virtual recluse and wouldn't even visit the hairdressers.
"These days you can't keep me out of my local salon and I'm always trying out new hair colours such as vivid pink and fire red."
The secret of her success was a "relentless determination" to rule out fatty food in her diet, replacing her favourite take-aways with pasta dishes, vegetables and salads.
No one is more impressed with her achievement than Karina's husband Matthew, a fireman, who loves his wife's new slimline shape and self-confidence and regularly tells her how gorgeous she looks in her trendy clothes.
She says: "When I was overweight I always came across as a real 'home bird' when really I just wanted to hide away from the world.
"Now our feet don't touch the floor and Matthew and I even go clubbing together. He's really pleased with the new me."
Karina, who lives in Stoke-on-Trent with Matthew and their two children, Max 13, and Jake, eight, had been overweight all her life and was constantly on and off diets.
She says: "When I was overweight I suffered one embarrassing incident after the other - including getting stuck in a turnstile at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, falling over in front of a group of children and being unable to get up, and not being able to pull the meal tray down to eat on a plane.
"As well as the physical effect on my health, my weight had a huge impact on me mentally. I had no confidence in myself and worried constantly about how much I weighed." She successfully lost the pounds using a system called "food optimising" - where foods are split into colour-coded groups. You can eat a little meat and fish on "red" days and pasta and potatoes on "green" days, but you cannot mix the two groups together.
Karina's now confident she will maintain her healthy shape, saying: "This is not like a diet. I soon found I could eat food I really enjoy by making a few simple changes. I've got so much energy and have no trouble keeping up with my two sons, who think my transformation is fantastic.
"This summer I joined them surfing on holiday and when we go out for a family bike ride I can give them a run for their money.
"There isn't anything I won't try now. I just love living life to the full."
Karina can choose either a holiday to Singapore and Dubai with her family or a cash prize of £3,000.
