WHEN friends tell Anneltje Hacquebord she is half the woman she once was, she could not be happier.

Because the 34-year-old is not far off – and yesterday she was named Career Woman Slimmer of the Year.

Thanks to a New Year’s resolution Miss Hacquebord dropped from a hefty size 20 to a svelte size 10 in less than a year.

From bingeing on fat-filled baguettes and sandwiches, mountains of cheese and on-the-go junk food, and swapping to a low-fat diet full of cereals, fruit, vegetables and lean meat, Miss Hacquebord, from Osney Island, Oxford, has dropped six stone.

Now she indulges in a much healthier lifestyle, and is able to enjoy her love of teaching flamenco dancing and has become a keen rower.

Miss Hacquebord, an architect, said she had been overweight since she was 14, but started to pile on the pounds during her university years, when comfort eating saw her balloon from a size 16 to a size 20.

She said: “There was no one turning point which made me want to lose the weight.

“I always say when you are overweight you always know you need to lose it.

“But after a colleague and myself set ourselves the New Year’s resolution of losing weight I went to the doctors to be weighed.

“It was the first time I had stood on the scales in 25 years.

“I had been avoiding the truth. But the shock of finally knowing how much I weighed made me determined to do something.”

She made the change from fat to fit with the help of the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club, which encourages members to combine a healthy low fat diet with exercise.

South African born Miss Hacquebord was one of eight ‘Slimmers of the Year’ who have lost 67 stone between them, awarded at a ceremony in London yesterday.

Miss Hacquebord, who scooped the title of Career Woman Slimmer of the Year, also features as cover star on the front of the Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness magazine for February.

Since losing weight, Miss Hacquebord has joined the Falcon Rowing Club at Donnington Bridge, where she trains twice a week, and has also started teaching flamenco classes once again, a hobby she has enjoyed since she was 10.

She has also found love, after meeting her partner Marcus Moore at a party earlier this year.

She said: “I would never have had the confidence to talk to people before.

“It feels amazing. I feel like the person I always knew I was. I would say to people looking to make the change, to have positive thinking. Believe that you can do it, and you will be able to.”