How Sam became a magazine cover girl

Sam Belsham’s journey from horror to healthy started with a Facebook photo and ended up with a photo shoot in Sydney.

‘‘Near the end of 2011 I went to a social gathering,’’ she said. ‘‘ A few days later I saw some photos of me tagged on Facebook and thought, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I was fat’.

‘‘I thought I’d looked pretty good that night.’’

Ms Belsham, who lives in Aotea, had a 9-month-old son at the time and the ‘‘ new mum’’ excuse came easily to her in explaining the extra kilos. She and her husband are into snowboarding and wakeboarding, so she believed it was a matter of time before her 80kg frame became slimmer.

But her confidence continued to slip to the point where she would not take her son to the pool because she did not feel comfortable in a swimming costume.

Something need to be done and she was not sold on diets, or interested in going to a gym, even though better nutrition was a big goal for her.

‘‘It was more about making a lifestyle change.

‘‘ I had heard about Weight Watchers, so I did some research, went to one of the meetings and that was it.’’

The 31-year-old said losing 17kg in six months, without running marathons or giving up treats, had given her an enormous lift in her life.

It came down to personal accountability and ‘‘ a better relationship with food’’. She weighs a steady 63kg today.

‘‘Weight Watchers is all about points – every item of food has a number of points. You don’t deprive yourself of certain types of food, like chocolate, but it’s the type of food and how much you’re eating.’’

With the weight loss has come more desire to do exercise and keep fit. The lessons from Weight Watchers would remain with her forever, she said.

Her husband got in on the act, losing 15 kilos at the same time.

‘‘ I don’t go to the [ Weight Watchers] meetings any more, but I’m constantly keeping a tally in my head of the points of all the food we eat. I’m still eating treats, but I understand nutrition and finding a balance in your life with food.’’

Ms Belsham was over the moon when asked to go to Sydney for a Weight Watchers photoshoot in May.

She thought she would feature in a future issue, and was told in June she was the cover girl in August.

‘‘It was a cool experience and I hope it inspires a few people. At the end of the day you’re your own worst critic, so it’s up to you if you want to make a change.’’