Stunning young bank official Nicola Bleakley has the world at her feet. At 22 years of age she is the first ever All-Ireland Unislimmer of the Year - having reduced her weight by an incredible seven stones. In just one year the determined young woman from Newtownards, Co Down, completely turned her lifestyle around.

“It took exactly a year and I had lost seven stone,” she says. “It was the best feeling I had ever experienced. I looked the way I always dreamt of looking. I ditched all my old clothes and bought beautiful new ones in a much smaller size.”

She says it was the shock of having to buy maternity wear at 18 years of age that jolted her into doing something about her weight. “Deep down I always knew I was overweight,” she says of her old life. “When out with my friends - who were all small, petite and beautiful compared to me - I was known as the 'big girl'. I remember being out with them one night and feeling so hot, but I wouldn't take my big long coat off because my arms were so huge.”

One weekend while out socialising with friends, Nicola met a girl she hadn't seen in a long time. \"She looked great and she had lost weight,\" she remembers. \"I was in desperation at this point and I had to ask her how she did it. She said she joined Unislim and invited me to come along.\" The following Monday night she joined Liz Soandso's Unislim class in Newtownards.

“I was trembling with nerves but I knew I had to go” she says. “But when I arrived at the class, I felt completely settled. Everyone was so nice and Liz the class leader was so welcoming. She asked me to get onto the scales and when I did I couldn't believe it. I had risen to an enormous 17½ stone. My heart dropped. Liz talked me through Unislim unitiser guide and Unislim procedures. She was so supportive and told me to work at my own pace and I would get there.”

But even Liz didn't know how right she would prove to be. When Nicola went home and told her family, they were so proud of her making the first steps. “From that point I never looked back, I attended my Unislim class every Monday night without fail. I realised were I was going wrong. I snacked too much, never exercised and ate too many of the wrong foods.”

“I never went to bed without a packet of crisps, a full fat drink and a big bar of chocolate. With Unislim knowledge I started to change my lifestyle. I was eating more fruit and vegetables and stopped snacking. I was eating my way slim and started to introduce exercise and as part of my daily routine walking each day.”