Weight and see loss

By Rebecca Fraser
BERWICK’S Julie Stuart had nothing to gain and everything to lose when she joined WeightWatchers just over a year ago.
Since then, the 44-year-old nurse has lost 32 kilograms and is well on the way to reaching her target of 68 kilograms.
At the start of last year, Ms Stuart tipped the scales at 107 kilograms and, in recognition of her life-changing weight loss, she was given a glamorous makeover at her weekly WeightWatchers meeting last Thursday.
Jeanette St Clair, of Berwick, did Ms Stuart’s make-up with Nutrimetics, Paulina Woods, from MD’s Hairdesign in Rebound Court, Narre Warren, styled her hair, and Katies, at Westfield Fountain Gate, provided a stylish new outfit.
Ms Stuart said she had been dieting for a long time and had tried many weight-loss regimes.
“I have tried calorie control, pre-packaged food, the Atkins Diet, the soup diet and lots of others,” she said.
Ms Stuart said she had always been slightly overweight but had really “packed it on” over the past eight years.
“I am a lot happier in myself. I am more confident and enjoy life a lot more. I am also far more comfortable in social situations and don’t feel self-conscious.”
Ms Stuart works as a nurse in the surgical unit of Dandenong Hospital and said her weight loss had also helped her professionally.
“I feel so much better when I tell patients they need to lose weight.
“I don’t feel like a hypocrite anymore and I can talk to them about the difficulties or ways to go about losing weight,” she said.
Many of Ms Stuart’s patients have also noticed her transformation.
“When I have patients that come back they say, ‘I thought that was you’ and don’t recognise me.
“They tell me how different and good I look.”
Ms Stuart said people wanting to shed kilograms needed to make the decision to lose weight and be prepared for the long haul.
“This is a long-term thing and there is no quick fix. I knew it would take me at least 12 months,” she said.
WeightWatchers meets every Thursday night at 5pm and 7pm at the Berwick Guide Hall, High Street, Berwick.
For further information, visit www.weightwatchers.com.au or call 1300 880 053.