DECADES OF DIETING

After years of fluctuating, Hayley Grice, 49, has finally found a solution to maintaining

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For as long as I can remember, my weight has been an issue. I've spent years obsessing over the number on the scales, but even though there were times when I thought I'd won the war with my weight, I'd end up piling it all back on again. From exercise to surgery, over the last three decades I’ve tried it all. There were times when I was so miserable I could barely leave the house, but now I'm confident that I'll never yo-yo again...

1987: NEW CURVES

Running around the track on the sports field, my PE teacher pulled me aside.

'Hayley, you need a sports bra,' she said.

My cheeks burned as I looked down at my newly developed curves.

It was my first year at secondary school and, aged just 11 or 12, I'd gone from being skinny to having boobs that bounced when I ran. I was so embarrassed and started comparing my body to other girls my age.

1992: FINDING LOVE

After leaving school aged 16, I was a size 14 - big for my 5ft 3.5in height - and I wore a size 36C bra. I started working as an office junior, where I met Mark and we quickly became friends.

Self-conscious and weighing about 12 stone, I put myself on a diet of jacket potatoes and tinned tomatoes for tea, and three Ryvita and a cheese triangle for lunch.

Later, when I was 18, Mark and I became a couple. By then, I'd shrunk to a size 10 and 8st 13lb.

1994: BINGEING