WHEN she was 35 stone, Julie Jones saw her staircase as the equivalent of Mount Everest and knew it was time to act.

Every trip upstairs took the 42-year-old mother-of-two half-an-hour.

But now Mrs Jones has shed 20 stone, she flies up and down the stairs in seconds - and has been named Slimming World's Greatest Loser for this year.

Her breaking point came two years ago on a holiday to Cornwall. ''There was a mirror at the bottom of the stairs and I could see my legs and the bottom half of my body as I came down,'' she said. ''I looked at them and thought 'That can't be me - they're tree stumps'."

Returning home to York, a friend encouraged her to try Slimming World.

At the initial weigh-in, she thought the assistant had written down the wrong number.

''I was 35st 4lb. I thought I couldn't possibly be 35st - maybe 25 - but then I realised I had to do something, I couldn't go on like this.''

Mrs Jones had to ditch the big love of her eating life - bread. She used to eat three pieces of toast while she cooked her breakfast of two fried eggs and bacon. Once ready, she would have another three slices to go with it. Lunch would be two sandwiches, dinner a large meal with pasta or mashed potato and then yet another sandwich before going to bed.

Her new diet, which she started in May 2005, is based on protein and vegetables.

''I just feel like I have so much more freedom," she said. "Going upstairs would take me half-an-hour. Now I can fly up and down in five seconds.