'I feel like a young girl'

Six weeks ago Doris Apap, 57, was piling 200 grammes of pasta with meat sauce onto her plate, popping six Panadols a day for her various aches and pains and spending her evening plonked in front of the television miserable at the fact that she weighed 128 kilogrammes.

Today Mrs Apap feels "like a young girl", with lots of energy after having lost 12 kilogrammes in six weeks, after she signed up to the 12-week national weight loss programme, L-iSfida Ghall-Kbar Biss.

"I love pasta but now my portion is just 100 grammes and I usually opt for a tomato-based sauce with basil. My aches and pains have disappeared and Panadol tablets no longer feature in my diet," she enthused as she waited her turn to bowl at yesterday's event held at the Eden Super Bowl in St George's Bay.

Before joining this weight-loss challenge, Mrs Apap was miserable about her weight but nothing seemed to spur her into action, until her friend secretly signed her up to L-iSfida Ghall-Kbar Biss and surprised her.

"I jumped on the idea. I have learnt so much about health and nutrition that my husband and I have changed the way we live, from eating different food to introducing more exercise into our daily routine," she said.

"The good thing is that I'm not feeling deprived of food and I feel so good."

Mrs Apap's health has improved so much that her doctor is also considering reducing her dosage of high blood pressure tablets.

So does she plan to continue living a healthy lifestyle once the 12 weeks are up?

"For me, drinking more water, eating more fruit and vegetables and doing exercise has become a way of life. My husband has already told me he plans to renew my gym membership once the programme ends," she said, as she turned with a brisk step and a smile to pick up the bowling ball.

Mrs Apap was yesterday just one of about 120 slimmers following the programme, who gathered at the Eden Super Bowl to compare weight-loss notes, eating habits and have fun.

Popular television presenter Claudette Pace, who coordinated this activity together with Saint James Hospital Group director Maria Bugeja, said the aim was to get all the 12 groups together to socialise and share their stories of progress.

The idea for the weight loss programme was born after Ms Pace, who was stunned by the island's worrying statistics on obesity, decided to lose weight herself by getting others to join in the challenge. To help her achieve her goals, Ms Pace roped in Saint James Hospital, the Health Promotion Department, numerous fitness experts, nutritionists, psychologists, gyms and private entities, which are all providing their services free of charge.