KIM Collins is celebrating her birthday today with a present that money just can't buy - a new stunning size 10 figure.

This time last year the 23-year-old customer services worker, from Blackburn, was having trouble fastening the zip on her 16 jeans and feeling utterly miserable with her body.

"My boyfriend Carl was taking me to Prague to celebrate my birthday this time last year and it was packing for the holiday - and discovering that there was practically nothing in my wardrobe that fit me - that was the final straw in my decision to lose weight," said Kim.

"I was squeezing myself into size 16 clothes when really I was a size 18 and I was fed up of buying a new wardrobe in a bigger size every year in the January sales."

On January 29 Kim took the first step to her new lifestyle by joining a Weight Watchers class.

After transforming her diet and starting an exercise regime, she shed four stone in six months.

"I went along to the class on my own one Saturday, which took a lot of guts," said Kim.

"I had no idea how much I weighed as I didn't own scales, but I guessed at 11 stone. When the scales hit 13st 7lbs I was gobsmacked."

As with many of us, Kim's weight gain crept up without her really noticing.

"I used to be a dancer when I was younger and wasn't big," she said. "But when I moved out of home at 16 to live with my boyfriend Carl I got comfortable and started being lazy, eating takeaways and not doing any exercise. I'd make a big lasagne to serve four and we'd eat it between ourselves, along with a big portion of garlic bread.

"Carl is on his feet all day so he stayed slim and because he didn't put on weight I didn't really notice it on myself. Looking back, I can see that, although I'm an outgoing person, I did turn a bit quieter and less confident when I was big."

Kim followed the Weight Watchers Points diet and began walking, swimming, and attending aqua aerobics classes. When she got fitter she quickened her pace to a jog and now runs three times a week.

She reached her goal weight at the end of July and was approached to become a club leader herself. Now she has a new part-time career, taking five meetings a week in Burnley and Rishton. She has also been given the honour of holding the UK's first-ever Sunday meeting, at Langho.

"I love helping other people achieve their goals because losing weight has changed my life. I used to go home, have a big tea and be so tired that I'd fall asleep on the couch. Now I tell my members that the first thing they'll notice about losing weight is that they'll have so much more energy. My health has improved too - my asthma is much better."

But the best thing about losing weight, as far as Kim is concerned, is buying new clothes - and better still, looking great in them.

"I'm a shopaholic now," she laughed.

Kim recommends joining a slimming club to make sure you lose weight in a healthy way and receive support from fellow members.

"Losing weight isn't easy, I don't care what anybody says, but with a bit of will power and the right guidance you can do it."

Jan Matthews, Weight Watchers area manager for Blackburn and Burnley, said: "Kim joined Weight Watchers one Saturday morning in January and was one of these people who couldn't believe what she weighed when she first stepped on the scales. She used to be a bit of a couch potato who didn't really do much apart from slump in front of the TV when she got home from work.

"Now she's like a different girl. She looks absolutely stunning and her health has benefited too."