Dive shock prompts mega-diet

Nine months ago Blanaid O’Sullivan, from Loudwater, north of London, weighed between 16 and 17 stone. Her dress size was 24-26.

She now weighs 10st 7lb and wears size 12 clothes.

O’Sullivan, 47, who works as a medical company director, said that constant international travel had led to bad on-the-move eating and too many dinners with clients.

But the thought of not being able to operate effectively as a diver was the last straw. “I realised that if I didn’t do something about my weight I might never get back into the water again,” she said.

O'Sullivan was awarded Action Woman Slimmer of the Year by Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs, of which she is a member, in London this week.

She now slips easily into a moderately sized dive suit, helped by the welcome fact that, according to Rosemary Conley, "because of all of the exercise she does, Blanaid’s skin has sprung back”.

One clearly happier diver, then, leading into the 2010 season.