West Auckland mum Sharon Bayford (pictured on left with daughter below) is enjoying a $10,000 windfall thanks to a competitive streak that has seen her drop more than 20kg and four dress sizes.

Sharon (45) went into a national draw with Contours when she, along with hundreds of others nationwide including her daughter, achieved a minimum 5 per cent weight-loss as part of our 6-week Fitness 15 weight loss programme.

Contours Henderson owner and personal trainer, Ursula Arthars says the offer of a $10,000 prize draw stimulated a lot of competition with their close-knit members.

“There were hundreds of entries nationwide but our branch had the highest number of members qualify for the draw, with 52 members losing a total of 404kg,” says Ursula.

Sharon’s gym-buddies and family are thrilled for her, but two years ago she was the furthest thing from a pin-up girl for fitness that one could imagine.

Of average height (5ft 6in) Sharon was a 103kg couch-bound smoker who, according to her adult children and health professionals, was heading for an early grave. 

The trigger for the banking and finance worker’s dramatic change came in April 2006 when her mother passed away from emphysema.

“She’d been smoking for 60 years. My sister and I nursed her at the end. I held her in my arms as she died. My sister was crying on my shoulder telling me I had to lose weight and give up smoking because she didn’t want to lose me too.” 

Sharon got a further wakeup call when her children Maria (now 26) and son Michael Riedler, a 21-year-old power-lifter, also pleaded with her to give up smoking.

"I knew I was killing myself. I was eating badly, sitting on the couch after work, smoking 20 cigarettes a day. I even developed a horrible rash all over my hands that I couldn’t get rid of.”

After visiting a string of health professionals she was told the rash was an Annulare Granuloma - something that has no cause and no cure.

“In the end my naturopath said to me, ‘This is your body crying out for help’.”

Her cholestoral was also sky high: “The nurse phoned me and said it was 7.9 per cent and I was heading for a heart attack.

Her daughter Maria was also a couch-bound smoker who wanted her mum around long enough to see her grandchildren. That’s when the pair decided to enroll in a six week programme advertised at their local Contours branch.

“It was three weeks after mum died. I thought I was going to die just walking up the one flight of stairs to reception."

It was the first of three fitness programmes Sharon has done at the gym which has seen her lose 21.9kg of body fat and drop from a size 22 to a size 14. It has also triggered fierce competition between mother and daughter.

“We’ve been neck and neck in our weight loss, but each of us is determined to beat the other. I’ve put chocolate bars in the fridge and hidden her keys so she can’t get to the gym.”

Although the pair was improving their fitness, amazingly they continued to smoke, both giving up on July 1, 2007. Exactly a year to the day later Sharon was presented with the $10,000 in prize money.

“Maybe it was mum watching over me.”

Sharon credits her tenacious personal trainer, Ursula, and the support of other gym members with her incredible turnaround.

“Because it’s women-only there is a focus on what we achieve rather than how we look in our gym gear. We’re like a family here.”

Sharon says she will spend the money on further enhancing her appearance with a bit of eye surgery.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking of for a while, and now I can.”

She is also focused on toning her upper body and is determined to lose another 15kg of body fat, which will leave her with a healthy 20kg of body fat – within the normal range for women.

Contours congratulates Sharon on her achievement. She has been on an amazing journey and is a thoroughly deserved winner of our grand prize. Well done Sharon!