Doggone happy minus extra 54kg

Rachel Wright can't stop smiling. And why should she?
The 28-year-old Whangarei woman has shed a whopping 54kg.
She's fit, healthy, stands 174cm tall and is a finalist in the WeightWatchers 2006 Slimmer of the Year competition.
"The best thing is I'm happy. I'm so damn happy. I used to get so stressed and grumpy. Nothing stresses me out any more. I just shrug it off," she says.
The outward transformation from her first weigh-in at 126.5kg in February 2004 makes it hard to believe she's the same person.
Last weekend her granddad walked past her without saying hello. Clients of the firm where she works as a structural engineer stare blankly at her while asking to see her. But the inward change has been just as dramatic.
A friend recently looked at her intently and said, ``You're really happy aren't you?''
"He didn't say you're really skinny. That's the clincher for me," Mrs Wright said.
She and husband Daniel married in November 2003. Her size-30 wedding dress that had fitted her six weeks before had to be let out just before their big day because it had become too tight.
She says she was so unhappy that she was constantly arguing with Daniel. "I was a very angry and bitter person, depressed and miserable."
She was unfit and couldn't even tie up her shoelaces without getting puffed. She joined WeightWatchers after a doctor's stern warning about her high blood pressure and cholesterol.
It was February 2004, but after only moderate success through a change in diet, and with summer about to roll around, by October Mrs Wright "freaked out". "Summer for an overweight person is really unpleasant. I dusted off the dog and went for a walk and just about died."
She was soon walking 30-45 minutes most days, and says having a big dog like Ziggy tugging at his lead is a great upper-body workout. "When I started using the WeightWatchers' programmes properly, counting the points and doing the exercise, it just fell off."
During Christmas and New Year - when most people are greedily gaining weight - Mrs Wright lost about 4.5kg.
She says she couldn't have achieved what she did without the support of the ``wonderful people'' at her Whangarei YWCA WeightWatchers group.
Partway through her weight loss she felt a bit low when a fellow slimmer said to her: "If it helps you, you're the only reason I got through this week." She reached her goal weight of 76kg in November 2005 and has continued to lose weight. She says anybody can achieve what she has provided they:
? Want to do it. "It's never going to work if you can't be bothered."
? Attend meetings, not just the weigh-in. "Sit down and talk to people, it's motivating."
? Exercise. "You have to exercise."
Mrs Wright is now a size 10. When she sees a woman as overweight as she was, she feels like grabbing her by the shoulders and saying: "You don't have to be here." But she knows that wouldn't do any good. "They have to be ready - in the right mindset to help themselves."
She is one of five North Island finalists in the Slimmer of the Year competition. North and South Island finalists will be chosen on June 13, to fly to Sydney to join five Australian finalists for judging. About $90,000 in prizes are up for grabs.