Rachel Saintfort: Her Daughter's Classmate Called Her 'Fat'

Rachel Saintfort was always confident, so her weight — which hit 200 lbs. by the time she was in high school — didn’t really bother her.
“I was never that person who let my weight get to me,” the Lakeland, Florida native tells PEOPLE for the 2018 “How We Lost 100 Lbs.” issue. “Everyone knew me to be that girl that was big, but always took care of herself.”
But Saintfort, who says food was her “bestie,” continued to gain weight year after year. She added the “freshman 75” in college, and then more weight after she gave birth to her daughter in 2007. She also developed lymphedema in her legs, a build-up of lymph fluid that causes swelling.