NOW an impressive 3st lighter, reporter Liz Mackley is ready to throw herself out of a plane 10,000ft above firm ground for the 160 Appeal.

Three months ago, the 24-year-old generously offered to sign up for a skydive only to be politely reminded of the weight-limit in place for such challenges.

In other words, she had to lose 42 lbs.

By strictly monitoring her diet, hours and hours at the gym testing every form of physical activity under the sun - from pilates and hot yoga to cycling - Liz held firm and her efforts paid off.

Now a healthy 82.1kg, she is as ready as she will ever be to take the plunge, and most importantly to celebrate with a cream-slathered slice of cake after weeks of deprivation.

“I hadn’t really put much thought into the jump until now,” said Liz.

“I’ve just been so focussed on losing the weight, now that the end is in sight it’s like I’ve suddenly realised that I have to jump out of a plane.

“It’s not a pleasant realisation. I mean, who in their right mind would ever willingly put themselves outside the metal floating thing that’s giving you a beautiful birds-eye view of the world.

“Fortunately I’ll probably be so frightened I won’t want to eat anything in the morning so there will be no chance of not beating the scales, although I’m hoping I’ll lose another couple of pounds or so so I don’t have to do the jump in my skivvies.

“I’m not sure even The Sun will want to see pictures of that.

“I’ve also promised that I’ll be live-tweeting and filming the whole event, but I’m not sure how practical that’s going to be with all the G-force.

“The thing that’s really going to get me through it though is the knowledge that I will have someone prepped with a cream cake for when I land. As long as there aren’t any pig styes around and there’s no chance of a repeat of that moment in Bridget Jones’ Diary, I’m sure everything will be fine.”

The road to a lighter and much more self-assured Liz was initially paved with good intentions, boundless enthusiam but unfortunately no clue whatsover as to how to actually lose a substantial amount of weight in record time.

In her inifinite wisdom (fuelled by panic) she embarked on a juice binge which saw her live in a hunger-induced fog for a week.

Without help from personal trainer Ronny Terry, who suggested a healthy diet and strenuous exercise regime, her transformation would have potentially taken years.

“I owe a lot to Ronny,” she added. “If I’ve learned anything in the past three months is that I do not give good healthy-living advice. Ronny’s ways work much better.

“I’ve been chopping off the fat without getting that spaced-out feeling because I’ve been eating the right amount of the right things and although I don’t really get the science behind it all, it’s been working.

“I am so much fitter than I’ve ever been as well, and it’s really inspired me to think about taking on longer running distances.

“It’s also completely turned around my attitude towards things. I mean my confidence and self-image has completely rocketed and for the first time ever, achieving my dreams does seem like a distinct possibility given what I’ve already achieved.

“It’s not all been good, I have lost a few friends along the way because I may have become a little bit narcissistic, and apparently flashing my flatter tummy at everyone in the office isn’t socially acceptable.

“But I don’t mind because at the end of the day it’s all been in aid of Prospect Hospice.

“In all seriousness I do feel like a bit of a cheat because this was supposed to be something to help support and bring comfort to people who need it more than me, and it’s ended up helping me make positive changes to my life too.

“I guess that means I now need to do a new challenge to make up for it. I’m open to ideas. The more impossible the better.”