When slimmer Ali Smith craved cakes and chocolate she and fellow dieters chatted on the Internet to stop each other from raiding the fridge.

SLIMLINE ON-LINE: Slimmer Ali Smith, of Sherburn-in-Elmet, who used the Internet to help her stick to her diet and to meet up with other slimmers

Ali, of Park Avenue, Sherburn-in-Elmet, put on weight after she left a stressful job and became a full-time mother to her son Sam, eight.

When she went shopping for new clothes for a family holiday she found out she had gone from a size 16 to a size 24 and was horrified.

"I was so miserable on holiday," she said.

"I was so fat and even a donkey gave me a mucky look when it thought I was going to get on its back.

"I looked like a beached whale and when I came back I joined WeightWatchers."

Ali started her weight loss campaign in June 1998 and she has now lost 7 stone 7lb. She is a size 12 for the first time since she was a 20-year-old.

She said: "The last bit was really hard to lose.

"Everyone has a weak time of the day when they're dieting no matter how wonderful they are.

"Mine was 9pm and I'd go for anything no matter how bad it was for me.

"I would get my treat, which was a gin and tonic, and go on the Internet and chat with people in virtual chat rooms.

"I made a lot of friends who I'm still in touch with and at one stage there were three other people who were weight watching and using the Internet to keep themselves occupied so they didn't eat."

Ali is now a WeightWatchers leader and is about to take on a fifth class which would make her more or less full-time.

At the Millennium she watched New Year being celebrated on live web-cameras placed all over the globe thanks to a link up provided by a friend in Canada.

"The Internet was a great help with my weight loss" she said.

"And now I've got all these friends who I keep in touch with by e-mail."

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