Trim, tone and burn fat efficiently with Bodydoctor's programme of exercises

Find out how one woman was made to look ten years younger in ten days without surgery

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Times Online, May 2004

From frumpy housewife to glamour girl: Janet Tappin Coelho finds out how one woman was made to look ten years younger without surgery

Can you really look ten years younger in just ten days by simply using natural and holistic methods? Is it possible within a week and a half to be more youthful, leaner and fitter without going under the surgeon's knife; being pumped full of Botox or having several pounds of fat siphoned off through liposuction? Sue Chamberlain appears to be living proof that you can. The 34-year-old mother of four from Herne Bay, Kent, was frequently mistaken for being ten to 12 years older than she was. A dress size 16 and 5ft 3in (1.60m), she could not shift the excess pounds. But within ten days she lost half a stone (3.5kg), went down a dress size, rediscovered her waistline and energy.

Chamberlain's remarkable transformation from a tired, middle-aged looking housewife to a fresh-faced, youthful individual can be seen in Channel 4's latest reality television offering, 10 Years Younger, on Wednesday night.

In the series, a team of experts is set a challenge: make someone look ten years younger in just ten days by any means necessary. Laser eye surgery, chemical peels, cosmetic dentistry and collagen implants are just some of the artificial tools used alongside mousse, make-up and a wardrobe overhaul.

Chamberlain was the only subject not to be given any surgical treatment. Instead her rejuvenation was by natural means, courtesy of David Marshall, a fitness instructor, better known as the Bodydoctor, and the facial expert Emma Hardie.

However, before treatment could begin, Chamberlain had to undergo the indignity of being taken to Carnaby Street where 100 people were asked to guess her age.

The general response was that she looked over 40, with one man asking if she was 50 years old.

Next Chamberlain was introduced to Hardie. Although she was sceptical of Hardie's claims to be able to give her a facelift using just her hands, after a 30-minute treatment on one side of her face, Chamberlain was astounded to see the difference Hardie's fingers had made in just a short space of time.

She had brought colour and warmth back into half of Chamberlain's face, while the other untreated half looked sallow, lack-lustre and dehydrated "It was amazing. When I looked into the mirror, the first thing I noticed was my face was red and glowing although nothing had been applied to my skin.

"The deep line leading from my nose to my mouth had diminished, the age spots were almost invisible, I had definition around my cheekbone where none had existed before and the sagginess under my eyebrow had been lifted, opening up my eye," Chamberlain recalls.

Operating in a trance-like state, with her fingers gently resting on the client's face, Hardie claims to detect changes in the texture of the facial tissue as it releases its tension underneath her touch and becomes soft and malleable. It took four one-hour sessions to repair, lift and resculpt Chamberlain's face completely because it had suffered from years of damage and neglect.

While Hardie worked at wiping a decade off Chamberlain's face, Marshall worked at toning a body that was overweight and unfit.

Chamberlain was shown how to become slimmer using Marshall's programme of 23 sequential exercises that trim, tone and burn fat efficiently.

The exercises work systematically through the body and are backed up by nutritional advice. A gentle cardiovascular warm-up is followed by upper body exercises using dumb-bells and gym equipment.

What is unique about the training is that each resistance exercise counter-balances the previous one because Marshall operates what he calls a "clean as you go" approach - if one exercise contracts a muscle the next one stretches it. Then it is lower body routines followed by stomach exercises and finally, stretches.

"Everything has to be done in sequence for it to work effectively; the key to my programme's success is not cardiovascular exercise but lean muscles," Marshall explains.

In five one-and-a-half-hour sessions Chamberlain lost 3in (7.5cm) off her waist, two inches off her hips and now fits into dress sizes 12 to 14 and feels much younger.

"Physically, I was in terrible shape. I drove everywhere, did no exercise and ate all the junk food leftovers on my children's plates. I also ate at least two bars of chocolate a day and drank about 25 cups of tea," Chamberlain admits.

It came as no surprise that at her first meeting with Marshall, who also helped Sophie Dahl shed two stone, she struggled to do his fitness test. As she tried to lift the lightest of weights, her arms wobbled.

"My most difficult time was during the first week when I was doing stomach exercises. Having had four children my muscle tone wasn't great."

At one stage she breaks down in tears on camera as Marshall urges her to do more sit-ups. "I was frustrated that I couldn't do them but I am not ashamed at crying because it shows the highs and lows of what I went through and that I didn't use plastic surgery to get my results," says Chamberlain.

To complement these treatments, Chamberlain's wardrobe was completely overhauled by the stylist and presenter Nicky Hambleton-Jones and she was also given a new hair-do by the celebrity hairdresser Charles Worthington. Then she was taken back out on to the streets to gauge the public's reaction.

The response from a poll of 100 people, who were asked to guess her age, put her at about 33 years old.

Five months on, Chamberlain still receives compliments about how young she looks. Her skin radiates health and vitality. She eats healthily and has maintained her fitness levels by exercising at home using the Bodydoctor's new book, CD and video workout.

Her latest hobby is shopping for the fashionable outfits she used to avoid as a size 16. She also takes time to give herself a daily 20 minute bio-energy facial boost, as taught to her by Hardie.

"Doing the programme was an incredible experience. It changed my attitude towards the way I look and how I look after myself. It has restored my self-confidence," Chamberlain says.

"Now I know what to do to keep myself looking and feeling young. I'm determined not to lose what I've learned and what I've gained."

The Bodydoctor Fitness Programme (which includes manual, video and CD) costs £60. Times readers can buy it for £30. For more information visit www.bodydoctor.com

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