The wife of a Leigh fisherman who was lost at sea has turned her life around and now wants to help others

Jane Dolby, 52, lost husband Colin nine years ago in a tragic accident which left her to fend for herself and her children alone.

Struggling to cope with her enormous loss, Jane, who works with youngsters at Southend YMCA steadily piled on the pounds over the years until a shock diagnosis of diabetes prompted her to turn her life around.

Since then she has lost six stone and cured herself of diabetes.

Jane from Leigh, said: “In January, and morbidly obese, I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2.

Since then I’ve been on a mission to improve my health and fitness and lost just over six stones in 30 weeks.

“Most of the physical changes are the outcome of deliberate changes to behaviour which prompted subsequent mental and emotional shifts. Like many people I ate for comfort and to self soothe.

“My overeating was never about physical hunger any more then somebody with an alcohol addiction drinks because they’re thirsty.”

Jane, who founded the Fishwives Choir, to raise funds for the charity which helped her following her husband’s death, added: “I gained a significant amount of weight following the sudden death of my husband and for ten years hid myself away in a fat suit where I didn’t like how looked but it felt safe and familiar and kept the world at bay in many respects.

“Our brains are not programmed to make us happy, they are programmed to make us survive and this was how my brain kept me emotionally safe.”

The inspirational mum’s transformation has included a career change which will see her qualify as a therapist in December.

She said: “I’ve used a lot of meditation, visualisation, positive affirmations and therapeutic tools such as cognitive behavioural therapy on myself to make these positive changes and these are available to anyone.

“YouTube for example has tons of really helpful videos which are all freely accessible.

“Having spent years in diet clubs where I lost weight and put it all back on again, I knew I had to do something different this time as my health was seriously at risk.”

Jane, who has three sons and a daughter aged from 13 to 31, decided to share her experience to help others who are also suffering.

She said: “I overate to meet emotional needs.

“But this weight loss experience has further convinced me that therapeutic intervention can help us gain control of our minds.

I’ve learned that committing to change can feel like a lot of hard work but the joy from the results is worth every moment of effort.”

Colin Dolby disappeared while fishing in bad weather off the coast at Shoebury in November, 2009.

The 47-year-old’s body was found at Thorpe Bay.

To find out about Jane’s counselling service you can visit facebook.com/JaneDolbyTherapy