Slimmer wears bikini for first time ever – after losing nine stone

A 27-year-old woman has worn a bikini for the first time in her life after losing nine stone.

Two years ago, Danielle Richmond, a shop assistant from Lossiemouth, Scotland, tipped the scales at 21st 5lbs. She wore a UK dress size 26, and couldn’t even hoover the stairs at work without becoming short of breath.

Her weight also affected her confidence: “I was shy, I used to put off going out in public. I was always worried about what people thought,” she says.

She suffered chest pains during a holiday in Tenerife, and doctors told her her weight was affecting her health. She was also asked to be a bridesmaid at her father’s wedding, further motivating her weight loss journey.

This prompted her to join Slimming World in April 2017.

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"I came home from a holiday in Tenerife and had chest pains and the doctors said it was connected to my weight,” Richmond says."All the food and booze on holiday wouldn't have helped.”

"I used to work in bars and would drink full fat fizzy pop, eat crisps, chocolate and peanuts.”

Her diet has completely changed. Richmond now cooks all her food “from scratch” and runs 5 kilometres twice a week with her running club.

"Now I cook everything from scratch and I know what it in my food,” she says.

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Now a confident size 14 and weighing 13 stone 1lb, Richmond says she’s finally found the confidence to wear a bikini for the first time in her life during a holiday to Marbella last summer.

She managed seven stone of her nine stone weight loss before her father’s wedding in July last year, meaning she felt “confident” walking down the aisle.

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“"It was such a good feeling. Family I hadn't seen for a long time were all complimenting me,” she says."It was really good to know they could see a positive change in me.

“My brother was crying as I walked down the aisle, he knew it meant so much to me.”