Back  |  Email to a Friend  |  Print  |   Send in Your Comment

Come Diet With Us!

Ready to kickstart the fitter, slimmer, healthier you? These three readers are.

And, for the next month, soap star and model Gemma Atkinson is going to be their diet mentor. Gemma has reaped the rewards since changing her attitude to her body and learning to eat and exercise right, and now she’s going to share her body shaping secrets with Closer readers Caroline, Victoria and Jill.

You can track their progress right here - and find out how YOU can lose those stubborn pounds and feel fitter, slimmer and sexier.

Name: Caroline O’Hare
Age: 30
From: Blackpool
Current weight: 10st 12lb
Target weight: 8st 7lbs
Height: 5ft 8ins
Body issue: My chunky thighs and bum.

“I spend a lot of my day cooking meals for my four kids, but when it comes to myself I’m too knackered– I just sling a pizza in the oven. I have some really bad food habits, like eating the kids’ leftovers off their plates and picking all day long, and this means I can’t really keep an eye on how much I’m eating.

Apart from pizza I love bread, cheese and chocolate – all the bad things! The stupid thing is, I love vegetables and fruit – I’ve just got into bad habits and eating things that pile the weight on. My biggest weakness is full fat Cola – I drink at least a 2litre bottle a day. I have a cross-trainer but I barely use it.

Five years ago I was a size 8-10, and I could wear skinny jeans and tight fitting tops, but nowadays I’m a 12 and always in baggy tops and unflattering jeans.

My chunky thighs look awful, and I hate undressing in front of my husband. All I want is to be able to get into my skinny jeans again – and look good in them. I need someone to tell me what to do to really get me motivated to eat right. I just want my body back."

Name: Victoria Cann
Age: 25
From: Devon
Current weight: 12st 8lb
Target weight: 11st
Height: 5ft 7ins
Body issue: I hate my flabby back

“I used to be quite happy with my body but since 2010 when I started studying to become a midwife at Bristol University I have gradually put weight on.

This is because I’m not in a routine anymore like I was when I had a 9 to 5 job. I’m fine being strict about my diet when I know what time I’m getting home, because I can plan my meals and trips to the gym. But if a work placement finishes late I’m starving and just eat something quick and easy. And once I’m home in Devon at weekends any thoughts of healthy eating go out the window.

Me and my boyfriend, Sam, go into ‘treat’ mode and have meals out and Indian and Chinese takeaways. My big weakness is bread – I love crisp sandwiches – and I’m a big fan of cheesboards. I’ve tried every diet going in the past – the Cambridge Diet, Weightwatchers, the Juice Diet – you name it. I always do really well for a week or two, but then I get bored and the diet gets forgotten.

I have now joined a gym and really got into exercise agai, but my diet remains a problem. I especially hate my flabby back, and my dream is to look good in a backless dress”.

Name: Jill Adams
Age: 30
From: Dundee
Current weight: 12st 9lb
Target weight: 10st 8lbs
Height: 5ft 5ins
Body issue: Too much fat around my middle

“I hate having a big tummy, but with five children and my husband, George, 32, working offshore as a rig electrician for a month at a time it’s difficult to get to the gym.

I’m quite active and walk everywhere, and sometimes do dance programmes with the Wii, but it’s not enough to really make a difference. I only had my last baby in August, so I’m still getting rid of the baby weight – I’ve lost a stone and a half with Weightwatchers since I had Oskar - but I really want to lose more, so I feel like my old self.

I’d ultimately like to get back to my pre-baby weight of around 10stone, and get the tone back in my tummy muscles.

Being my current shape I find it a nightmare to find a suitable dress for a night out. I used to love clothes shopping but I just find nothing looks good on me now. I would love to be able to go into a shop and just buy something, like I did in the past. With my husband home for the next few weeks I’m determined to get fit and slim again”.

Follow week one of Gemma's fitness plan by following the video below: