REDUNDANCY is a word that fills most people with dread.

But for Emilie Drew losing her job was the best thing that ever happened to her.

As a customer services manager for a battery company, her BlackBerry telephone would ring around the clock as she handled multi-million pound deals.

But after she was given the worst news possible – the company she worked for would close down leaving her without a job – she has turned her life around for the better.

Emilie has since gained the confidence to land her dream career after losing a remarkable eight-and-ahalf stone.

And now the 30-year-old loves her job helping other people to lose weight and get healthy.

Now a Slimming World consultant, she runs the 18th best slimming group out of 10,000 across the UK, has been promoted to a team developer responsible for 13 groups and has helped more than 50 people reach their target weight.

For the first time ever her salary is nearly double that of her partner.

Emilie, who runs the Calmore group in Totton, said life before was totally different.

She said: “Before I would never switch off. I would have the BlackBerry constantly buzzing because a lot of clients were in America or the Middle East which meant I was always ‘on call’and had big accounts to manage worth literally millions of dollars.

“When I got the news it was a huge shock and I was really worried about what I would do. I had no real qualifications and we were in the middle of a recession and with jobs in the Southampton area in high demand, I really started to panic about what I would do if a job didn’t come around soon.”

But Emilie said redundancy has ended up making her happier – and healthier.

She was introduced to Slimming World in 2001 and through the healthy eating programme, she swapped takeaways with home-made and nutritious meals to shrink from nearly 19 stone and wearing a size 28 to a svelte size 10/12 for her 5ft 7in frame.

Daily Echo:

Emilie before.

It was while she was a member at the Totton group and soon after the shock news of her job loss, she discovered career opportunities with Slimming World.

And since becoming a consultant, she has not looked back, saying redundancy has ended up making her happier – and healthier.

“My job with Slimming World is just fantastic.

Watching people’s lives change for the better in front of your eyes just brings me such a sense of achievement! Knowing I’ve been a tiny part of that just makes me go all fuzzy inside.”

Emilie, who earns around £27,000 a year, explained she enjoys the fact she is self employed and has flexible working hours.

She added: “I had never earned more than my partner in the past, but now I earn almost double his salary and it’s a great feeling!

“After just 12 weeks of being a consultant, I was accepted for a managerial role, so I get to look after a fantastic team of consultants in my local area too and I get to work with them and train them to let their careers flourish.

“I’ve never looked back and I don’t think I ever will.”

  • To find out about opportunities for new consultants in the Southampton and surrounding areas call Emilie on 023 8086 1098 or 07817 968 028.
  • Go to Slimming World.