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Nicola Field, 36, discovered powerlifting and not only lost weight, but gained a newfound sense of confidence.

"I didn't get much of a chance to play outside and run around with the other kids growing up. We lived on a farm in New Zealand and I was plagued by ear infections and other illnesses. Most of my childhood memories are of visits to the doctor and time in hospital for ear operations. Not that I minded. I'd rather be inside reading a book or watching a movie. My illness was an easy excuse.

"As I participated less and less, I ate more. Strangely, my poor diet and lack of exercise didn't have much impact on my weight. I guess I was using up a lot of energy fighting off infections, as well as growing, even if it was to only four foot, nine and a half inches tall.

"At puberty, it started affecting my waistline. Like many families, we had a few problems so I turned to food for comfort. It became something I thought about all the time. At my heaviest I weighed 85 kilograms and was a size 18 – scary when you consider my height, or lack thereof!

Then, nine years ago, my life changed. I was living in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, after moving to Australia in 1993. The couple I was boarding with, Maurice and Sue, were into powerlifting and had a gym in their garage. I was still very unsocial and would rather be at home than out with friends. When they suggested I give it a go, I thought, 'Why not?' It wasn't about getting healthy; it was simply a conscious effort to get out there more.

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"We worked out three days a week, for a few hours at a time. I had to start with the very basics, teaching my body where it was in space and making it do what I wanted it to. Starting with just a broomstick across my shoulders, Maurice taught me to squat, bench press and deadlift. I was making progress, but that was small comfort when I hobbled down the stairs the morning after a workout.

"My interest in food switched from being just about taste to considering what my body actually needed. I learned how my body used different types of food and what I needed to get the most out of my workouts. It wasn't super-healthy food; mainly meat and vegetables. And I could still have my favourite burgers, chocolate and beer, just not as often.

"Maurice and Sue watched with interest as my knees began to emerge from beneath the layers of fat and my tummy shrank. I was able to squat deeper and lift more. When I dropped to 75 kilograms, I started thinking about what weight I wanted to achieve. Up until then, I had just enjoyed the workouts and the weight loss was an added bonus.

"I had no desire to be 'stick thin', I just wanted to be healthy. I decided to work towards 60 kilograms. For quite a while, I stayed at about 75, then 65 kilograms. I was exchanging fat for muscle, so although the scales didn't change, my shape did. I worked towards my goal – but I knew I would need to lose more. My new goal became 50 kilograms. As I lost weight in one way, I was gaining it in another; I was squatting around 85 kilos, the weight I'd been when I started with the broomstick.

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