Imagine this: you are estranged from your adoptive mother after a childhood peppered with emotional and physical abuse. After years of tireless searching you are joyfully reunited with your birth mother, only to lose her within months to a tragic and unexpected death.

To top it all you find yourself a single mum to a boisterous and beguiling son whose Asperger’s Syndrome goes undiagnosed for the first five years of his life despite your best efforts. You’re obese, you’re alone and you’re running out of options to create the extraordinary life you want to be able to give your son, complete with all the love, security and opportunity you never had.

What do you do?

Well if your name is Ajay Rochester, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and shed half your body weight. You keep a brave, bold and beautifully human diary of your weight-loss lessons and transform 130kgs of depression, eating disorders and damaging yo-yo diets into a story of such courage, determination and success against all odds that your book Confessions of a Reformed Dieter flies off the shelves.

You become a role model for women everywhere struggling with obesity, wellbeing and self-esteem issues. You establish a thriving member-driven online community called Healthy Body Club, write regular columns for popular magazines, accept channel 10’s invitation to host their flagship television show, THE BIGGEST LOSER…while still finding time to walk the Great Wall of China for charity with none other than Olivia Newton John and lavish your son with all the special care and attention he needs. Phew!

And if all that sounds impressive, you’ll be blown away by the fact that as far as Ajay’s concerned, she’s only just getting into her stride! With a book about raising a child with Asperger’s in the pipeline and a lot of interest in her creative talents from TV bigwigs in the states, Ajay’s star is set to continue its meteoric rise.

But what really makes Ajay such a stand-out is her ability to remain grounded, relatable and honest, no matter what. Through inviting early readers of her books to contact her by email and replying personally to as many as possible, Ajay inspired a thriving online community which has blossomed into the hugely successful www.healthybodyclub.com.au - now in its third reincarnation with a brand new website…and a whole new philosophy to help as many women as possible to “Get REAL”.

Ajay’s milestones

2004

Loses over 40kg in the first of taking a new, healthy approach and keeps a remarkably brave and honest food diary about her weight-loss journey;

2005

Confessions of a Reformed Dieter is published as a result and becomes an instant bestseller through word of mouth and www.healthybodyclub.com.au is born;

2006

Ajay’s second book The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Losing Weight and Getting Fit is another success and Ajay becomes the host of channel 10’s THE BIGGEST LOSER; Yvette Gent comes on board as Healthy Body Club‘s development partner;

2008

Ajay joins Olivia Newton John and friends to walk the Great Wall of China to raise money for cancer research;

2009

The third phase of www.healthybodyclub.com.au is launched

May - Chasing Oprah site launched, documenting Ajay’s journey to Oprah

June - Magic Wardrobe Auction site launched to raise awareness and funding for autism charities