Christmas was always about food, but this year it’s about feeling worthy. I used to feel invisible but since the surgery and weight loss, I feel noticed.
Emma
The gastric sleeve
It’s more than just weight loss surgery - it’s making me feel worthy
This Christmas Emma is stepping out of the side lines and into the spotlight. After losing an incredible 9 stone since her weight loss surgery in March gastric sleeve patient Emma is looking forward to celebrating more off-scale victories and setting more goals for 2022.
Self-proclaimed yo-yo dieter, Emma had struggled with her weight since she could remember. The challenge wasn’t losing weight but keeping it off. “I would fall into a cycle of losing weight, feeling confident, going out more – eating and drinking, then putting the weight back on”.
Re-calling a particularly low point Emma knew there was a need for change when she found herself being out-walked by a 4 and 74-year-old on a family holiday “I felt like I had the body of a 90-year-old”.
Knowing that if she continued to get heavier that the impact on her health and lifestyle would be serious, she started looking down the weight loss surgery route.
After a lot of research into surgeons, clinics, aftercare and the types of surgeries available Emma felt that Mr Rishi Singhal was the one for her. With the support of her husband, the surgery was booked and Emma prepared herself for the next chapter in her life.
My first off-scale victory
8 months on and an amazing 9 stone down Emma has a new lease on life. But it’s more than just losing the weight, it was all of the new experiences that came with it.
“My first small victory was being able to zip up my coat”. And then the rest followed, walking into high street shops and being able to look at the clothes they have knowing that she can wear the sizes now is liberating.
“Being able to cross my legs, it’s something we all take for granted but it was something I hadn’t been able to do for years”
Although Emma always had confidence in herself she felt invisible in public crowds “I was always just the bubbly fat girl at the back”. But since losing weight Emma has noticed she doesn’t feel invisible anymore. “I was out with the girls and they were all so impressed that I managed a full day of shopping without having to stop or sit down”. Thanks to the weight loss surgery she’s more than the “bubbly fat girl at the back”, she’s feeling a new kind of confidence and loves it. And, she even got chatted up in her local pub!
This Christmas will be different
In the past Christmas was a time to indulge in food. “My plate would always be a mountain, and I’d go back for more”. But this year for Emma it will be completely different.
It will still be a day of enjoyment but with everything in moderation. Instead of having everything on her plate, she’s only going to pick her favourites, and the things her body will work on.
Not only this but Emma even surprised her husband when she suggested that on Christmas morning they get up and take their dog on a walk. This was something that would have never happened in previous years.
“I feel worthy now, I have the energy to do all of these things and enjoy them!”
This is the first year that Emma wants to get herself glammed up for Christmas, she feels great in herself and is planning on trading out her usual “boring and black outfits” for something that brings her more attention.
If anyone is thinking of surgery - “I say just do it”
There’s a lot of considerations about weight loss surgery and it has to be something everyone researches for themselves. But Emma can’t help but sing the praises of weight loss surgery.
If you are like Emma and struggle with your weight and diet then there’s no shame in the path of weight loss surgery, and by sharing her story she hopes to help remove the stigma around the topic.
“You have to do your own research, everybody is different, do what’s best for you”. Emma says.
2022 plans
“A few Christmas’s ago the family planned to do a zip wire but there was no chance I would have been able to do that, but next Christmas my goal is to be able to go on the zip wire, something I never thought possible”