Mrs Bousfield (49) had been big all her life and she was tired of it.
She would go walking in the dark so no-one could see her.
But then she signed up for the Green Prescription - a Sport and Recreation New Zealand initiative, recently moved to the Ministry of Health - aimed at helping people whose health would benefit from increased physical activity.
It involved general practitioners and practice nurses giving a Green Prescription to patients who were then eligible for support and advice through phone calls, face-to-face contact or through activity groups.
Mrs Bousfield admitted she was a different person since becoming a Green Prescription patient last November.
She had changed her eating habits, having discovered she was not eating as healthily as she thought.
She no longer skipped breakfast, had cut out sugar, ate more fruit and salads and drank a lot of water.
While she used to struggle to swim two lengths, she now swam up to 60 lengths at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre about twice a week, used a cross-trainer at home and walked 4km or 5km every night.
As well as losing more than 20kg, Mrs Bousfield said she was more confident, having previously been very shy, withdrawn and self-conscious.
She also had a lot more energy and was never hungry.
She joked that ice cream was still her downfall but she ate less and did more exercise to compensate.
Mrs Bousfield, who works in the canteen at Waitaki Boys High School and also cleans at St Kevins College, said it was all about making better choices.
"People say they don't have time. I thought I never had time but you have to make it," she said.
Seventy percent of Green Prescription patients surveyed in the Otago area have noticed a change in their health since they "went green" and 67% were spending more time being physically active.
