I believed no man would ever look at me while I was big, and when I did pop out to the shops, I thought people were pointing and laughing at me behind my back.

What a waste.

Everything changed a couple of years ago when I met a great new crowd of friends on MySpace.

I got chatting to a fantastic woman called Carolyn, who’s a size 20 like me.

She was so full of life, laughter and confidence, it made me wonder what on earth I was worrying about.

My online friends gave me the confidence to start a new career as a plus-size model – I recently shot a sexy calendar for our army lads overseas!

I’ve also got a great boyfriend, Chris, who loves my body.

In previous relationships I’d switch off the lights before making love as I worried about my boyfriends seeing my great rolls of fat – now I couldn’t give a damn.

I can’t believe I wasted so much of my life being unhappy about my size.

Now I eat more healthily because I’m happy, and I walk everywhere so I know I’m fit, too.

I truly believe this is the weight I’m meant to be.

NO!

says Georgia Foster, 38, from London. she went from A size 18 to a 12 in 18 months

If there was a pill that shrunk you to a size 12, every overweight woman would take it.

They only pretend to be happy to protect themselves.

I should know – I struggled with my size for 16 years, and it wasn’t until I admitted how unhappy I was that I lost weight.

At my largest, I weighed nearly 14st and was a size 18, huge for my 5ft 3in frame.

My best friend Fiona was slim and all the boys wanted to go out with her while I was the ‘fat friend’.

My defence mechanism was to insist I was happy being big.

In truth, I was trying desperately hard to lose weight.

By my 20s my self-esteem was at rock bottom.

I had a voice inside my head telling me: ‘You’re fat, you can’t lose weight, there’s no point trying.’

To the outside world I loved life and my body, but underneath I was miserable.

I was so desperate for approval that I put up with destructive relationships.

One boyfriend even told me I was too fat to have sex.

Eight years ago I made the decision to do something about my size.

I started to think, eat and exercise like a healthy person, and began to lose weight.

It took 18 months, but I’ll never forget the day I first fitted into a pair of size 12 jeans.

I began to feel comfortable naked, and finally I attracted healthy relationships.

I’ve been with my partner for nearly four years, and it’s the sort of relationship I never thought I’d have.

I’m now a hypnotherapist, helping women change the way they feel about themselves.

Nobody wants to be overweight.

I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Do you think you have to be a perfect size 10 to be happy? Georgia says that if there was a pill which would shrink you to a size 12 everyone would take it – would you? Has your weight fluctuated over the years? If so, did it affect your mood and outlook on life? Does size really matter when it comes to your happiness?

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Photography: Dean Belcher. Hair & Make-Up: Oonagh Connor @ Minx. Styling: Lauren Ezekiel.