SARAH Banks looks a million dollars - slim, tanned and happy.

It is hard to believe that 19 years ago she weighed more than twice what she does now. And that as recently as last year she was bingeing, comfort eating, overweight and hating the way she looked.

Blonde interior designer Sarah (37), who lives in Upavon, has always had problems with her weight.

"I think I was born on a diet," she sighed. "I had problems even at school. I think your make-up is something to do with it. Plus I have always enjoyed my food and I eat hearty, man-sized portions."

When she was in her early 20s she successfully shed six and a half stone - but then three years ago she uprooted from Eastleigh, where she then lived, with her nine-year-old daughter, Holly, and partner, David Wright.

The move was exciting, but it was a massive upheaval and the stress of settling into a new area, the strains of living in an old property while they renovated it and health problems on top of everything else caused Sarah to slip back into bad eating habits.

"I wasn't watching what I was eating, having too much of the wrong thing too often, too many convenience meals and take-aways and far too many sweets," she said. "It's amazing how easily the weight goes on.

"I was unhappy and I hated the way I looked, I hated feeling fat and out of control."

She tried quick-fix diets but they didn't work for her - after a few days she binged and up shot her weight again.

When she had successfully dieted in her early 20s, she had done it with Slimming World and she decided to try the slimming club again. But it wasn't easy.

"I felt embarrassed and worried about what they might think of me. It took so much courage to walk through the door a second time," she admits.

Last April she walked through the door of the Durrington class. "I swallowed hard and was greeted with a warm welcome," she says - and even better, she found their food-optimising plan, which let her lose weight without feeling hungry, and even allows "sins", like chocolates, suited her. "It was my saving grace."

By Christmas she had shed more than two stone and she hasn't put the weight back on.

"I am happier now and I am healthier now. I couldn't imagine myself being big and happy. I always felt I was a thin person trying to get out."

The house isn't quite finished but she can renovate nowadays without resorting to comfort eating and while she still attends her Durrington Slimming World class each week - "it's such a great atmosphere and social occasion" - she has been inspired by her consultant, Tracey Layfield, to become a consultant herself.

Sarah is now taking the St Gregory's Hall class, St Gregory Avenue, Salisbury, which meets at 7pm every Tuesday.

For more information contact Sarah on 01980 630276.