A woman told she was too fat to SKYDIVE literally dropped like a stone and shed the pounds – and can now fulfil her dream to parachute.
Michelle Selwood, 44, was told that she would be unable to jump out of a plane because she was 21 stone – and the chute might fail.
But less than two years after being told the horrifying truth she was too fat to fall, Michelle stands a trim 13 stone, and cannot wait to take part in her first ever skydive.
The singleton from Ramsgate, Kent, said: “It’s always been on my to-do list, and I was absolutely mortified when I found out there was a weight restriction.”
Michelle, who works in accounts at Nissan, started the diet in September of 2013 after a conversation with colleagues about fulfilling their bucket-list dreams.
She was inspired to raise money for the Pilgrims Hospice after a close friend died of cancer a week after he was diagnosed.
Michelle said: “I was researching the charity and found out that they operate entirely on donations, and wanted to help out.”
But she couldn’t do the stunt until she could shed her 21-stone girth, so she decided to cut fast-food like Subway and McDonalds from her diet, in a bid to swap pizzas for parachutes.
She said: “I still eat my cakes and ice cream, but I stopped going out for meals and started counting all the calories I would eat in a day.
“I would have friends over to my house for dinner instead of going to their houses because it’s hard to tell what other people put in food.”
She is now 13st 2lbs, 5lbs under the skydiving weight limit for women.
Michelle said she is still counting calories ahead of the dive at Headcorn airfield on Sunday.
She will be doing the jump with three colleagues from her job in accounts at Nissan, Sam Ripley, 23, Lee Mayer, 22, and Charlie Wightman, 48.
Michelle said: “I’m really excited but the three lads are bricking it.”
