Mum sheds incredible 14 stone and drops 20 dress sizes in just four years

JACI Morton once struggled to climb stairs and needed an extra large seatbelt on aeroplanes.

She was 25st 1lb - but now she's half the woman she used to be, and claims her size never made her unhappy.

However, when the 33-year-old business support manager from Whitburn, West Lothian, and her warehouse manager husband Russell, 28, decided they wanted to have their first child, Jaci feared that her weight may cause complications during pregnancy.

She embarked on a steady diet plan where she ate smaller portions and gradually began working out at the gym.

Four years later and Jaci is now an incredible 20 dresses sizes smaller than she once was having lost 14 stone.

Her son Mackenzie is now two years old and she has never looked back since.

She said: "When you first begin looking for tips to lose weight you just can't imagine getting to the end. I never actually set myself a target weight.

"I just knew if I exercised and reduced the amount of calories I was having I would get there.

"I've always been overweight, but I absolutely had a great childhood.

"I met my husband in 2000 and I was size 24. I've always been confident, self-assured and happy.

"I was at my heaviest at 25st in 2004. I never had any health problems, but I was probably going that way.

"Russell is 6ft 5in, well built and was working manually, and I was having the same portions as he was.

"In 2006, we decided we would start a family. I was increasingly aware of the things that can go wrong in pregnancy and I just wanted to give myself the best chance possible."

Jaci opted for a slight change in meals and insisted she has never avoided foods she likes.

She said: "I would eat the same things as Russell, just smaller portions.

"I would never sit there with just a salad.

"I followed Scottish Slimmers' programme and even though I didn't attend the classes, I stuck to the system. It was a great support."

When it came to exercise, Jaci began on toning tables before moving up to swimming and aquatic exercise.

She said: "It is very difficult to have lost two-and-a-half stone and no-one to notice, but when I lost four stone I was able to begin swimming and water aerobics.

"It's a natural progression. I couldn't have done it without Russell."

Jaci gave birth to Mackenzie in May 2008 and soon set about losing the extra weight she put on during her pregnancy.

After four years of eating the food she likes to eat and exercising regularly, Jaci is now 11st 1lb.

She added: "I'm happy now but I was never unhappy. I've made exercise part of my lifestyle and I go to the gym every day now."