THE police detective who lost three stone in four months says she feels like a “completely new woman” since completing her life-changing diet.
When Janine Stevenson, 37, of Northchurch, began her diet, she weighed more than 13 stones.
Her dress size has plunged as sharply as her weight and she said this week: “I am spending a fortune on new clothes and feel healthier than I have ever felt in my life. My skin is beautiful and I no longer get any blemishes, plus my hair is great.
“I sleep better and do not suffer from all the terrible aches and pains in my back that I used to get every morning. I just feel like a completely new woman.”
The transformation will also make it easier for Janine, who works in London, to pass her annual police fitness test.
The new measure – which will keep a check on officers’ waistlines, weight, and other factors to make sure they are fit for the job – was announced by the government earlier this month. Pay could be cut for those who do not make the grade.
Janine has now persuaded two colleagues from her Harrow office to take the same weight-loss programme she did. One has lost 10 pounds in three weeks.
When Janine signed up for the police, she had to pass a bleep test, a push-and-pull test on a rowing machine, and a hand strength test with a gripper.
But after four years in the job, the pressures of staking out criminals during long day and night shifts mounted up.
She found herself turning increasingly to ready meals and take-aways and exercising less.
She said: “I had to wear bigger clothes. You turn to food as a way out if you feel down or anxious about anything. It’s a vicious cycle as putting on extra weight makes you feel bad again.”
The former manager of Brown and Merry estate agency in Tring High Street signed up for the £54-a-week LighterLife programme.
She had weekly weigh-ins and cognitive behavioural therapy, while eating one meal a day, supplementing her diet with special soups, milk shakes and protein bars.
And regular three-mile runs in Ashridge with her Jack Russell dog Jack are also an important factor in her success.