Kate Cormack is nearly half the woman she used to be.
About two years ago Cormack was considered morbidly obese at 140kg and was struggling to lose weight.
"I was trying to go for shorter walks and I was even struggling to walk upstairs to my bedroom sometimes without huffing and puffing."
Now she has lost 65kg and is training to do a 10km run in five weeks time.
The outlook for Cormack's health used to be grim, though.
"I tried so many different diets and pills, everything I could think of and nothing was changing."
Sixteen months ago she made the decision to spend nearly $30,000 on gastric bypass surgery after seeing friends have success with it.
"I was using my KiwiSaver for part of that, so it was do you have a house deposit or ... I sort of felt like my health was more important than a house."
The surgery was successful, but it was only the beginning of her weight loss journey.
She signed up for a gym as soon as she was able.
"I'd lost a bit of weight by then, but I was still massively overweight and heavy.
But Cormack kept turning up and started to see results.
"I was shocked to see I was getting better at it."
A friend suggested she participate in a 5km park run.
"I was pretty nervous to turn up, even though I had been going to the gym, to go to a park run was quite intimidating."
Cormack said she had never run that distance before and was expecting to walk over the finish line, but before she knew it she had run the full distance.
"Suddenly I was at the finish line for this 5km park run, but I was in tears, I was shocked that my body could do that, I was shocked I had done that.
"For someone who, only a few months earlier couldn't even walk without feeling exhausted, without having aching knees, aching feet, this was a really big deal."
The surgeon's goal was for Cormack to weigh 90kg one year after surgery.
But Cormack managed to get down to 75kg, which had been her personal goal weight.
"I wasn't doing this to be skinny, I was doing this to be healthy and I wanted to be strong and I wanted to be able to be the fittest and healthiest version of myself."
On May 14 Cormack will take part in the 10km section of the New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty Hawke's Bay Marathon.
She has fallen in love with running.
"There is something unique about running. Sometimes you feel like you are flying.
"I think I love it. I am nervous about loving it too much because I know that the next one will be 21km, and then maybe 42km," she laughs.
Cormack said as well as walking her dog every day, she works out three times a week and tries to run two or three times a week with one hill walk a week.
She said her biggest inspiration on her weight loss journey has been her friends.
"They are just everyday people, they're not professional athletes or anything, but seeing their drive for fitness, especially in our age group 30s and 40s, that just really inspires me."
Cormack said she hopes her story could inspire others and there was an awesome community of people who had gone through weight loss and surgery in Hawke's Bay.
"There is hope you can overcome obesity."