Heather Samson and Clare Archer from Club Kingswood in Basildon will be helping us all live healthier lifestyles.

This week Ann Atkins proves that it is never too late to lose weight and get fit.

The 68-year-old from Basildon decided to overhaul her diet and exercise regime.

In less than six months she lost a stone in weight and increased her fitness.

Age 68 Height 5ft 1 Weight before: 8st 9lbs Afterwards: 7st 9lbs Ann says: “I have always been active and ridden horses but when I stopped last November I started going to the gym so I could keep fit.

“I was going to the gym regularly to classes but I really needed something to give me the motivation to improve.

“Seeing Clare each week spurred me to get fitter and now do three a week and I have tweaked my diet to make it healthier.”

Clare Archer says: “Ann came to me in January 2012. Her goals were to lose weight, increase her motivation and general fitness and to increase stability of her knee, which she had ongoing problems with.

“We started off with some basic cardiovascular and strength work. Ann’s diet was in general healthy but we made some simple changes so she reduced her weight and body fat.

“By March Ann had reduced her weight by 7lb, her waist measurement by 4 inches, hips one inch, and her body fat was reduced by two per cent. I then changed her gym programme to a interval based training regime, I reduced her cardiovascular work and increased her resistance and stability work.

“At present I feel Ann has achieved all of her goals. She has more energy for her busy lifestyle, has lost one stone in weight, five per cent body fat and increased her muscle mass by two per cent. Ann fits this programme in three times per week as well as participating in various classes.”

Heather says: “As far as her diet, Ann wasn't really that unhealthy for her main meals, it was her snacking and milky coffees that made the difference. By keeping a food diary she realised where she was going wrong. For example she would treat herself a latte after working out. Even with semi-skimmed milk a latte is still approximately 285 kcal, have two or three of those a day and you can easier add 800 plus kcals, add to that the little coffee biscuits, about 150 kcals each and you have added a 1000 kcals per day!

“Ann simply cut down on the treats, or cut them out altogether, and along side her training she reached her goals.”