Self-confessed yoyo dieter, Ceri Foster, now 41, weighed over 139kg when she decided to take drastic action and turn her life around last year ahead of her big 40th birthday.
She decided to take the plunge and go under the knife last September and underwent a gastric bypass - a surgery that reduces the size of the stomach - costing £10 000 (about R200 000). Since then, she has dropped from a size 24 to a size 8.
READ MORE: 28-year-old woman says her weight gain has made her marriage stronger
Image: Caters News/Magazine Features
Ceri now aims to spend a further £7 000 abroad on a boob job and tummy tuck. She says; "My 40th birthday was the turning point in my life, I was at my biggest and it was ticking time bomb until my weight was going to start affecting my general health.
"I was fed up, lacked confidence and I just kept getting bigger and bigger. My daughter, Macey, seven, was also a big factor, I did not want her to be conscious of my size.
"I was scared to go to Lego Land because I was extremely stressed that I would not fit into seats on the rides.
"I also could not go horse riding with my daughter because I was panicked that there would not be a horse big enough for me to ride. I would buy my own seat belt extensions from eBay for whenever I was going on a plane because I was too embarrassed to ask the flight attendants to use one," she reveals.
Images: Caters News/Magazine Features
Ceri's weight gain was a result of extreme binge eating whenever she was off one of her diets, as well as secret eating throughout the day.
She says; "My weakness was the large sharing bars of chocolate, I would often have them daily during my bad days.
"For dinner I would often order Dominoes, Kebab, Indian and Chinese take away for me and my husband after I had cooked a healthy dinner for my daughter and put her to bed.
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"I had seen other people on Instagram who had had a gastric bypass and it seemed like a good route. I went to the doctors and I was put on the NHS waiting list, however, the waiting list was so long I paid to have it done privately."
The operation cost Ceri £10 000 - it was funded thanks to her parents who helped with the cost as they could see she was at breaking point. Since the surgery and her huge weight loss, Ceri has taken up running and cycling, and takes part in virtual events where she runs up to 75km in a month.
"I am the fittest I have ever been in my life, I am much fitter now in my forties than I was in my twenties. I am much more beach confident and I am comfortable in swimwear. I have now even been horse riding with my daughter," she says.
Ceri wants to get further surgery next year, so she can complete her ‘perfect body’ with a tummy tuck and a boob job. She says, "I am going to get the surgery done abroad in Lithuania, as the operations will cost £7K in total there, whereas they would cost £17K in the UK. After that surgery my transformation for my 40th birthday is complete."
Now, Ceri’s meals include protein Weetabix, protein shakes, chicken salad, home-cooked meals but with no carbs. She snacks on protein bars, yoghurt, and fruit.
Article credit: Caters News/Magazine Features
All images: Caters News/Magazine Features
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