Super slimmer Rachel sheds 10st for sake of her son

Rachel Rose is delighted after shrinking from 18st 12lb to 8st 12lb.

The 39-year-old's decision to lose weight was inspired by her five-year-old son Evan, and the desire to see him grow up, amid warnings her size would shorten her life.

Mrs Rose, of Crowther Gardens, Halesowen, openly admitted she was 'morbidly obese' before slimming down.

The Weight Watchers leader said: "My weight loss was pretty epic, it was a long drawn-out battle.

"I've always been big and so that was a way of life for me.

"But when Evan came along the pregnancy was high-risk and it made me realise my weight was affecting other people.

"When you're a parent you always put your children first and it was suddenly so important that I could keep up with him.

"I wanted to be able to see him grow up and not miss anything."

Mrs Rose said she achieved her goal by splitting the process into smaller chunks of achievement and combining a new diet and more exercise.

She said: "I joined Weight Watchers straight away in October 2013 and then about four or five months afterwards I'd lost a couple of stone but realised I needed to do some exercise to get my body to come with me.

"I worked out an exercise plan but it was quite shocking when I started how poor my fitness was.

"I thought I was still quite young but my fitness was pretty terrible.

"After a while I could feel myself getting fitter and getting lighter and that kept pushing me along."

To keep herself in shape, Mrs Rose now does nine classes a week in the gym.

She said it is amazing to compare her former self to her current self.

"It's unbelievable, a complete life change and a complete lifestyle change.

"I live at the top of a hill and I used to walk 15 minutes out of my way to avoid walking up that hill.

"I would stop at shop windows and just slow down constantly whenever I walked anywhere.

"That was pretty embarrassing.

"Since I lost the weight I've done things like Race for Life which I couldn't have ever imagined doing before."

Mrs Rose said Weight Watchers' diet plan – which puts a number on everything people eat – had helped her switch her eating habits.

"Your whole relationship with food completely changes," she said.

"When the food has a number you kind of disassociate from it and see it as the number.

"But going to the meetings was a massive part of it as well.

"It gives you the sense of accountability – every week you're going and getting weighed and you get a lot of support from the group. Everyone is fighting the same battles and has the same issues so it becomes a kind of community.

"There's a certain level of understanding in the group and it's great."

In her role as a Weight Watchers leader, Mrs Rose is now a role model for other women hoping to lose weight.

"Now I'm responsible for about 100 people going through the process I did.

"They look to me for inspiration and to believe that losing weight is possible.

"That's a powerful position to be in, to be able to give someone the inspiration that they can do something."

Mrs Rose is over the moon with her new figure, but now wants to raise £4,200 to pay for breast surgery to remove excess skin. She said being told by a doctor the NHS would not support her on this was a testing time. But now she has a renewed goal and is putting everything into her fundraising efforts.

"When I was turned down by the NHS that was a very dark moment.

"But it's given me a target again which is good.

To donate towards her efforts, email r.rosey.29@hotmail.co.uk