When I returned from "fat camp" two months ago, the first thing I did was try on a pair of "leisure slacks" with a 40in waist - an emergency purchase last Christmas when I could no longer squeeze into any of my smart trousers.

Devon help me! Anyone who knows me knows I don't pander to skinny-celebrity culture. I'm happy being a big woman and I've run workshops celebrating the scared feminine since my twenties. Yet, even though my life has been blessed with abundance - especially since I married my wife, Margi, last year - I knew that, deep down, i still had some work to do on myself.

FitFarms Not for the faint hearted I was sitting in my office sipping a cup of tea when the invitation came in for a week at Fit farms and in blissful ignorance I thought "That looks like fun, a health farm that specialises in fitness -a bit of aerobic, walking and stretching."

Enrol at a Fitfarm

If you are serious about slimming and shaping up then visit a FitFarm to shed that stubborn weight once and for all. FitFarms are five-star women only wellness retreats specialising in weight loss.

FitFarms for a healthier and fitter lifestyle - "No. 1 Womens-only weight loss camp" - Sunday Times

FitFarms, the residential weight loss and fitness camp, is based in the Peak District and on Exmoor. Fitfarms focuses on intensive, natural and informative weight-loss programmes just for women.

The Weight-Loss Camp - Naomi Abeykoon was put through her paces at FitFarms

FitFarms wastes no time getting its participants to start moving - we play an activity-based getting-to-know-you game on the fist night! And the group is varied, to say the least.

We put FitFarms new fat-busting holiday to the test... - Rachel Roberts

Forget the sugary cakes and biscuits Tesco has on its shelves - my daily nutritionist-devised diet will provide around 1,500 calories.

Podgy pals Beveley Nothman, 45, from Buckinghamshire and Michelle Mercer, 36, from Berkshire , feared they'd never lose their baby weight.

Lose weight down at the farm

Forget yo-yo dieting and gym memberships - the way to get trim is a trip to a fitness resort.

The sun shimmers in the clear blue sky as the lush green trees sway gently in the warm breeze. I let out a loud yawn before taking a swig of my cool drink. 'All right girls?' I manage eyeing the 20 ladies lined up next to me. They nod, their faces as flushed as mine. A dribble of sweat runs down my cheek and I change position.