Woman, 28, who lost 172 pounds - PHOTO

Brooke Birmingham, 28, from Quad Cities, chronicled her epic journey on a blog, Brooke: Not On A Diet, over the four and a half years it took her to slim down.The blog came to the attention of Shape magazine, who wanted to feature Birmingham as part of their Success Stories series.But when she sent in her 'after' photo, in which she was wearing a bikini, Birmingham said the image was rejected by the writer handling the feature.She was told to submit a different photo of herself covered up in a t-shirt because it was 'policy'.Offended, Birmingham asked for a more elaborate explanation, for which she was told it was Shape's 'editorial to be fully clothed, simple as that'.However plenty of other Success Story subjects have appeared in the magazine wearing bikinis, according to E! Online.'If I couldn't have the picture of me in my bikini to go along with my story, then it wasn't MY story," Birmingham wrote on her blog, which is currently down due to increased traffic.'The story I wanted to tell and shout out to the world, not their ideal story.'So, if I couldn't tell it my way, then they weren't going to be able to tell it at all.'A clearly enraged Birmingham continued to vent her anger.'If anything, they should want my picture on their site,' she wrote. 'My body is real, not photoshopped or hidden because I feel like I should be ashamed. 'This is a body after losing 172 pounds, a body that has done amazing things, and looks AMAZING in a freaking bikini.'This is the type of body they should have featured because it can give people hope. 'Hope that they can lose weight healthfully and even if they don’t end up with airbrushed abs of steel, they’re gorgeous and shouldn’t be ashamed of whatever imperfection they believe they have.'Shape magazine said the situation was just a 'misunderstanding' involving a freelance writer.'This is a result of a misunderstanding with a freelance writer,' a spokesperson said.'This does not represent Shape's editorial values and the comments made about Shape's 'editorial policy' are absolutely untrue.'Shape prides itself on empowering and celebrating women like Brooke, and any indication that we would not run the piece with the photo provided was wrong, as we would have been proud to share her inspirational story.​'(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.az