DENISE TAYLOR - 'MY SHAPE HAS IMPROVED WITH FITBUG'

At the turn of the year, Denise Taylor realised she was sick of wanting to hide away from the world and was determined to get out and enjoy herself again.

She made herself a promise that she would lose weight and she would get fitter so that she could do the things she wanted to do.

After a false start with a cheap, inaccurate pedometer, she stumbled upon Fitbug and her good intentions went from a concept to reality.

'Back in January I was wondering if I would ever lose weight. I'd cut my food intake back quite dramatically, but I was only losing a few pounds a month.

'I thought I'd try walking and bought myself a cheap pedometer, but I don't know what it was counting because it certainly wasn't my steps!

'When I came across Fitbug it made me realise quite how little activity I was doing - it was between 4000-5000 steps a day and it didn't take a genius to work out that wasn't enough! '

With the help of her husband Simon, Denise came up with a plan to get her fitness level up and her weight down. But it wasn't for the faint hearted...

'We decided that an early morning walk was the best way to help me to achieve my targets. So, every single morning the alarm goes off at 6.53am and we are out of the door by 7 for a 75 minute walk.

'In the early days, that meant walking down to the railway line (just over 2 miles or 6000 steps). It used to leave me completely shattered and lying on the chair hyperventilating, but now we do 8000 aerobic steps and I still feel fresh as a daisy at the end.

'In fact, we are usually about 500 steps short at the end so I pace around the courtyard until I have taken my tally up to 8000 because then I know I will hit my aerobic target before breakfast.

'And I'm still progressing all the time. For example, we live near a big hill and not so long ago I had to stop four times before I got to the top. The other day I managed it without stopping at all.'

While losing two and a half stone is just rewards for her hard work, the other physical benefits - a change of body shape and dramatically increased energy levels - have been more of a bonus.

'When I became a Fitbug member, I used to feel exhausted as soon as I did any physical exertion.

'I've now lost two and a half stone - and I know that with a little dedication there is the potential to lose more.

'The best thing is that my belly used to be bigger than my bust, but now that I have lost five inches from my waist and I go in under the bust like I should.

'At the same time my energy levels have completely shot up and I can do the things I want to do. Before I used to want to hide away, but now I want to get out there and enjoy life.'