London, June 30 (ANI): Jane Mayes, who was overweight once and worked as a waitress, has lost 6 stones (38 kilograms) to win a place in the Olympic handball team.
Five years ago Mayes weight 18stones (114 kilograms) and lived on burgers and chips, but next month she will represent Britain in the Olympic Games.
She was picked to be on the handball team last week after an astonishing physical transformation that is a tribute to the power of dreams.
"I couldn't be more proud. To represent my country is the greatest honour," the Sun quoted Mayes as saying.
"Not only have I made my professional dream come true, I've lost six stone. It feels like I'm starting a new chapter," she said.
The 23-year-old had played handball since she was six, and initially she suspected her talent was in part thanks to her larger size.
Recalling her introduction to the sport at an after-school club, she said: "I loved it from the first time I played. By the time I was 13 it started to become clear that I was quite good at it too.
"I'm the goalkeeper, and back then I pretty much filled up the goal, which was a bonus," she said.
Then in 2007, while playing for local clubs, the announcement came that Britain would enter handball teams in the Olympics for the first time at the 2012 Games.
"When it became an Olympic sport I suddenly had a vision that I could be there. Despite the fact I was big, I knew I could do it if I shifted the pounds.
"I became so much more serious about my sport," she said.
But despite never missing practice, she still struggled to eat like a real athlete.
Mayes, who was by then working as a waitress, would often skip breakfast and just start the day with a can of Coca-Cola.
"I worked in a restaurant and every day I'd have a burger and chips for lunch.
"Even though I played handball three times a week, I would call in at McDonald's for two cheeseburgers and some chilli chips on my way home and I might even have some pizza bread too," she said.
And on top of all this, Mayes could easily still scoff an entire multi-pack of crisps or a few bars of chocolate as a SNACK.
"McDonald's was on the way to training so I could drive through and be fully satisfied. It was quick and cheap and it meant I didn't have to cook," she said.
It was only when she was selected by Team GB to be part of a pool of potential handball Olympians in 2010 that she realised that her Games dream really could come true, if she lost weight.
Not only was she 18 stones at the Team GB training camp, her body fat was measured at 50 per cent.
"I was gutted. It really hit home that if I wanted to make the final Olympic team I was going to have to do something about my weight and unhealthy lifestyle," she said.
Mayes asked Team GB strength and conditioning coach Lee Ottey to help.
"He told me I had to bin the junk food and helped me come up with a healthy eating plan, including foods such as chicken, tuna, rice and lots of vegetables.
"He also suggested she started every day with a 45 to 60-minute fat-burning session before breakfast.
"Going to the gym first thing was really horrible. Some mornings I just really didn't want to do it. To motivate myself I'd watch the Olympic TV adverts or pretend that I was racing against the person exercising next to me," she said.
Mayes had begun piling on the pounds around the age of ten, after the death of her dad.
"My father, Richard John Mayes, an ex-ship's captain, died after a long battle with lung cancer in 1999.
"My way of coping was to comfort eat. I'd gorge on crisps, sweets and ice-cream.
"Often I'd get up in the middle of the night to sneak more ice-cream so my mum wouldn't notice," she said
She is now training with the Olympic women's team for four hours a day, six days a week at Crystal Palace in south London, where she is also living.
Mayes, who still does part-time cleaning work to pay the bills, says: "Even though my weight had never made me unhappy, I feel so much better now.
"And it's so nice to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of the way I look before I step out the door," she added. (ANI)
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