Slimmer Rachel spurred on by plane seat ordeal
HOLIDAYS for overweight Rachel Ayers were such a nightmare she once hired a row of seats on a plane to avoid sitting next to anyone.
Rachel, now 45, suffered from serious weight problems, and after years of yo-yo dieting she had ballooned to a size 24/26.
The company accountant came to dread the annual getaway, not wanting to put herself on display at the beach.
But what she feared most was sitting next to a stranger on a plane, worrying that she might spill over to the next seat.
So when the chance of a break to Corfu came along a couple of years ago, Rachel booked a row of three seats for the trip.
The embarrassment was one of a number of catalysts which led Rachel to completely change her life, losing an amazing 10st 6lbs and plummeting to a size 12.
A further shock came when her father, who was also overweight and suffering from type two diabetes, had to have an eye operation and lost 20% of his eyesight.
Now sadly passed away, it was her father’s sight loss that helped spur Rachel on to transforming her life.
Rachel, of Yspitty Road, Bynea, Llanelli, said: “It was like a shock. He was 69, and I thought ‘what am I going to be like in 20 years’ time?’”
So, on September 5, 2017, Rachel took the small but daunting step of joining the Cambridge Weight Plan in her village.
Helped by consultant Jenna, she came to understand about portion size, nutrition and healthy foods, together with an emotional support system that included “a lot of tears and a lot of chats”.
Rachel, who works at the King Arthur Hotel in Reynoldston, said her previous self suffered from low selfesteem and a total lack of understanding of portion control.
She said: “I was not the person I wanted to be. I had the outside of low self-esteem and food was the plaster. I had to keep eating the food to cope.
“Unless your mind is right you will never be right. That’s the problem I had to sort. “Food was like drugs or alcohol.” At the height of her “addiction” Rachel was putting away 6,000 calories a day, three times the recommended daily amount for a woman.
Even climbing a couple of flights of stairs would wear her out.
Now, weighing in at a svelte 10st 8lbs, Rachel claims her whole attitude to food has changed.
Gone are the four tablespoons of mayonnaise with a meal, to be replaced with a flavoursome sauce.
Chicken is now flavoured with rosemary and thyme, with loads of vegetables rather than fatty roasties.
And Rachel’s weakness for cheese, wine and bread is now a treat she takes moderately.
She said: “I feel great. I don’t feel ‘I can’t have that’.
“My partner calls me a robot. I didn’t deviate around anything. I didn’t go off plan at all.”
Even Rachel’s partner has been bitten by the slimming bug. Stephen Smith, a 53-year-old physical therapist, also suffers from type two diabetes but is now almost back to normal health levels.
And what about those holidays? Rachel now can’t get enough of them.