A dog trainer who struggled to keep up with her pets during a 30-second agility course has gone on to launch her own weight loss group after losing three stone - with no tricks.

Amanda Cain joined Slimming World in January 2019 and now just over 18 months on she is taking over the Marazion group as consultant.

The relaunch comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed plans to improve the health of the country by encouraging overweight people to lose five pounds to save the NHS money and help lower the risk of dying from coronavirus.

Read next: Overweight people told to lose weight to save NHS money and reduce Covid risk

Amanda discovered that her weight had become to slowly creep up over the years, to the point she no longer enjoyed buying new clothes.

"My clothes were out of fashion and frumpy, bought to cover up all my lumps and bumps not because they looked good or made me feel good.

"I tended not to look sideways in mirrors and definitely didn’t look in shop windows as I walked by – this went on for years and so did the unhealthy eating and the wine intake, a vicious cycle," she said.

"I train and compete with my two dogs in the sport of agility and I was finding it extremely tough in training and competing in keeping up with my dogs on a 30 second course; my puffing and panting after was awful, I couldn’t speak."

It was a trip to Crufts in March 2017 that proved a turning point, as she joined a group of fellow dog trainers in a photograph and was left "horrified."

Falmouth Packet:

Amanda before and after losing three stone

"I was horrified at what I was seeing and made a vow there and then no more photographs - but that was short-lived, my daughter was getting married in the October and I was going to walk her down the aisle; I had to be in the wedding photographs, the mother of the bride.

"I could feel the pit of my stomach churning, although I smiled of course."

After her sister joined Slimming World in 2018 Amanda found a group near her at the end of January 2019 and ended up losing three stone, with her husband also weight as he followed the plan at home alongside her.

"I dropped three dress sizes in the first six months, it was eye opening. I could eat so much food, never felt hungry and nothing was banned - win, win," she said.

She added: "Slimming World really does work – it worked for me and so many others and now I’m lucky enough to become a Slimming World consultant so I can help, support and encourage others to achieve their dream weight."

Her group begins at Marazion Community Centre on Thursday morning from September 10.