Surgery couldn't STOP MY URGE TO EAT

After Michelle Geoghan, 51, shed 11st, she discovered an even harder battle to fight

- ASHLEIGH PAGE

Gastric surgery is often seen as the ‘easy way out’ weight-loss method. Medical intervention so that food cannot be eaten at the same volume, it gives no choice but to reduce calorie intake. But for me, my brain struggled to catch up to the weight loss that surgery provided. I looked in the mirror and only saw the bits I needed to change. I stepped on the scales and only saw the pounds I still needed to lose. It was as if my brain was stuck in a 30-year cycle of binge eating and shame.

Growing up, I was bigger than most of my friends and when I left school, I was size 18. But it was after my daughter was born prematurely in May 2000 that my weight sky-rocketed. My pregnancy had been complicated with pre-eclampsia and an underactive thyroid. Afterwards, I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes an irregular and fast heart rate, as well as dizziness and tiredness. I was also prediabetic. Worried about my daughter and my health, I turned to food for comfort.

Hitting the target weight

On top of my regular meals, I’d eat Mars bar after Mars bar, eight packets of crisps and toast slathered in Nutella. I knew I shouldn’t be eating so much, but the compulsion was just too strong.