Michelle Mone: Modelling my own lingerie was final victory in battle against the bulge

dailyrecord.co.uk:

LINGERIE tycoon Michelle Mone can be justifiably proud of her latest Ultimo model - herself.After shedding more than six stones in weight, the businesswoman shows off her trim new figure in her latest advertising campaign.Michelle decided to take herself in hand after years of working with glamorous Ultimo models, including Kelly Brook, Rachel Hunter and Jennifer Ellison, left her feeling fat and frumpy.The mum-of-three slimmed down to a size 10.But she faced opposition from her business advisers, her husband and her children when she told them she wanted to appear in her own ads.Michelle, 38, however, was determined to go through with it, in the hope her story will inspire other women who are unhappy about their weight.She said: "I hope I don't regret what I've done."I hope I have made a change in the way women feel about themselves.

If I have done that, then it has been worth it."Before losing weight, Michelle weighed 17st 4lb and had to squeeze into size 22 clothes.She admits she was "addicted to food" and used to hide cakes and crisps from her family so she could binge-eat in secret.She said: "I used to cry when I did shoots with Rachel Hunter on the beach in Miami and Sarah Harding on the beach in LA because I was so insecure."I would be wearing baggy trousers with elastic waistbands.

Rachel Hunter was a year older than me."I thought, 'One day I am going to feel like that'."Michelle said she was miserable for 10 years because of her weight.After trimming down to 11st, the businesswoman is now a size 10.

But she is aware that modelling her new range is a gamble.She added: "It took a lot to pluck up the courage and do this. I know it will shock the business world."A female head of a company, even in America, has never