Name Rebecca Weymouth
Age 28
Occupation Media sales executive
Relationship Single
Goals To lose weight, without dieting and exercise becoming a chore - and to boost her confidence in her body

I've generally got a big smile on my face these days as I go about my day-to-day life. Stage two of Project Me was a second appointment with my life coach, Ros Taylor. It was great to see her, especially now that I am well under way with the fitness side of things and starting to feel slimmer, fitter and happier. However, I could feel the little gremlins creeping back, namely self-consciousness and oversensitivity about my appearance, loss of control, dealing with PDEs (public displays of exercise), and trying to feel comfortable and positive about it all.

Ros is fantastic. Life coaching is fantastic. For a start, being encouraged to talk openly and freely to a professional - who doesn't make you feel like you're lying on a couch in a Woody Allen movie - is amazing. I have a good set of close friends and family who I love dearly, but I can honestly say that I don't always tell them the total truth. Or I listen to them with one ear while trying to digest something else that's on my mind. Ros has a magical quality that puts you at ease and has you delving into your life as easily as opening a bag crisps.

The second half of the two-hour session was spent finding out about how I thought and reacted in situations and working out how my colleagues, my friends and family and I describe myself. It was tough but very insightful seeing the lists of adjectives, and some definite patterns emerging!

The main thing I took from our meeting was a mantra. I won't reveal it, as the whole idea is that they are bespoke to your personal needs - but I can tell you that it is working. It's a simple phrase that I have written down in different places to surprise and remind me, like when I turn that page in my diary or switch on my mobile phone. Now, when I start to feel anxious or insecure, I simply take a few deep breaths, relax the tension in my shoulders and lift up my head, while silently repeating my mantra.

With a smile on my face and the inner strength my mantra is giving me, life has become quite a bit easier. Small steps, in all sorts of different situations, but I'm really starting to enjoy new feelings of control and confidence to speak up and be 'me'. I just need to stick with it, and I've every confidence I will. I've learnt so much and I'm gleaning more as I go, one thing being to try to be more considerate of others and ensure I listen more, as I now know my peers also suffer from similar feelings.

Ros has written many books and I received the relevant 'Confidence Tricks' one in the post shortly after our meeting. I have been factoring in spare 'reading time' at least once a week to devour the pages and carry on from where we left off. I'm finding it such a good read. The book is continuing to instill new thought processes and how to tweak the way I deal with situations in all areas of life - be it at work or play.

In terms of my weight and fitness, I'm a little disappointed that I've not made it to the gym as much as I'd have liked recently. I haven't lost any more weight but have succeeding in keeping it off. Now that my sessions with my trainer, Simon, have finished I realize how key his influence was in motivating me. My social life has also picked up ever since January turned into February and friends' 'dry Januarys' have come to an end. On a positive note, I'm still not drinking half as much as I used to prior to undertaking this project - however I am starting to find it more difficult to keep that wagon intact! A friend and I have decided that we'll go to the gym before work on Monday mornings to kickstart the week. We'll keep each other motivated.

I have also been keeping busy with the theatre company I am a member of. I auditioned for a show and was successful in getting in. The competition was tough, but it was proof to me that the work I've been putting in has paid off, as I was told that my dancing ability sealed the deal for the casting. I have never, ever been cast on my dancing before! That has continued to show me how 'positivity builds positivity'. With the work on my energy, fitness, body shape and more positive mindset, a small feeling of invincibility is growing inside me. I just have to keep it growing.

· If you would like to contact Rebecca with your thoughts, please email project.upgrade@observer.co.uk