Trim the sails!

20-stone mum loses half her weight and celebrates with nautical photoshoot

A WOMAN who weighed 20 stone has shed nearly half her body weight and rewarded herself with a bikini photoshoot.

Rachel Ford, 44, used to gorge on a Chinese takeaway and cake every day.

She took action after seeing unflattering photos of her size-24 frame in a swimsuit and now eats healthily and walks every day.

The mum of four said: “When I saw the snaps of me at my heaviest, I hated them. Looking at the pictures made me feel guilty and miserable.”

In January 2014, Rachel, from Coventry, ditched the junk food and lost nine stone within a year. Now, she AWEIGH YOURSELF In 2014 weighs 11 stone and is a size 12. The dental assistant, said: “I never felt so confident. The photoshoot was a reward for all my hard work. I use the saucy snaps as motivation to keep on track with my diet and exercise.” Rachel had been overweight since the age of 16. After meeting her partner Jim, 48, a manufacturing technician, at 21, her weight ballooned. She said: “We would scoff a curry or a Chinese every night, and have cake afterwards. “I continued to pile on the pounds. I weighed 20 stone. I knew something drastic needed to be done. “I banned takeaways and threw out all the junk food so I wasn’t tempted. Every day, I did a three-mile walk. I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved.”