Single mother who ballooned to 22st reveals how she lost HALF her body weight – and now says she can’t wait to find a man
- Katrina Wright, 40, from London, weighed 22st 6lb at heaviest and was a size 24
- Admitted she felt her weight was stopping her from being a good mother
- Lost remarkable 11 stone after having weight loss surgery and is now a size 8
- Now feeling sexy and confident, says she wants to meet someone special
A single mother has revealed her incredible transformation after losing almost 11 stone, which is half her original body weight – and now says she can’t wait to date.
Katrina Wright, 40, from East London, who has gone from a size 24 to a slim and sexy size 8, revealed: ‘I’m enjoying my new life and new me so much, I want to share it with someone.’
Weighing 22st 6lb at her heaviest, Katrina underwent an incredible transformation when she lost 11 stone, now weighing just 10st 2lb, and says her confidence is now sky-high.
She admitted: ‘I’m in the best place for me to physically and mentally enter into a relationship with someone. So yes, it’s time for dating – a little love would be nice!’
Katrina weighed 22st 6lb at her heaviest and was a size 24. She managed to lose 11 stone after having weight loss surgery and changing her diet and lifestyle
Katrina is now a size 8, having swapped her huge portions and multiple puddings for homemade healthy salads
Two years ago Katrina, a former sexual health and counselling referrals advisor, weighed 21st 1lb after a lifetime of trying to shed stones.
She revealed: ‘My mum put me on my first diet at the age of eight and I’ve tried almost every diet going since but nothing has worked.
‘I even became a runner for a while – but while I raised £1,000 for the Wallace and Gromit’s Children’s Charity I didn’t lose any weight for me and I began to thought I would never be able to do.
She explained: ‘My health was suffering – I was 22st 6lb at my heaviest – and I had so many reasons to motivate me to lose weight…’
The single mother was determined to lose weight after realising her weight was holding her back when her young son ran off and she was unable to chase him
But it was a shocking incident with her son two years ago that finally forced her to face up to the fact that now was the time she had to do it.
‘My youngest son Brandan, now five, was three when he ran off and ran out into the road,’ she says. ‘I was terrified and tried to run out to get to him, but I wasn’t fast enough – because of my weight.
‘It’s a busy road but, luckily, there were no cars coming. Had there been it would have been a very different story and it shocked me.
‘I thought I can’t look after my children like this, my weight is holding me back. And it’s not just affecting me anymore, it’s affecting my children too.’
Katrina admitted she has been on multiple diets throughout her life, but says she became determined to lose weight after realising it may be ‘affecting her children’
The single mother was shocked after her youngest son, then three, ran off down the road and she was unable to catch him
Just one month later, she took out a loan to have weight loss surgery. Katrina said: ‘I know some people say it is cheating, but it isn’t.
‘I have still had to re-educate myself in terms of healthy eating and portion control – although I do sometimes think that if I knew before what I know now, I might have been able to do it without it.’
She revealed: ‘After researching nutrition I know a lot of my problem was hormonal, it was a constant biological battle, caused by production of ghrelin and leptin which control how hungry and satisfied a person is – or isn’t – and the imbalance of those and blood sugars depending on the types of foods you eat, and if you have a starchy and simple carb-heavy diet.’
Katrina underwent a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (also known as a gastric sleeve) which removed 80% of her stomach (including the part that produces a lot of ghrelin), creating a narrow tube.
Following the weight loss surgery, which saw 80 per cent of her stomach removed, Katrina was only able to eat tiny portions (pictured above)
She also made changes in her diet including changing to complex carbohydrates, leafy greens and salads to regulate and improve her gut health.
She revealed: ‘The operation was scary because it’s a big deal, and yet exciting – but it pushed me into educating myself.
‘I had to eat smaller portions and use smaller plates – before I would pile food on my plate and I had big dinner plates – I had to eat more mindfully, especially just after the surgery, but now too as, over time, it becomes less restrictive.
‘If I eat too fast or too much I feel sick or get hiccups.’
Katrina says her weight loss isn’t all down to surgery – and that she has changed her diet to suit her new lifestyle
The single mother added: ‘It was hard to adjust after surgery because I was still wanting to eat the same in my head, and you get what you call buyer’s remorse where you wonder what in earth you have done.
‘But, very quickly, as you feel better, become more energised, your clothes become looser and you get used to what you are eating, you realise how good you feel and that it’s the best decision you’ve ever made.’
Her bodymass index is now normal and Katrina is now weighs just 10st 2lb.
She no longer has aches and pains in her knees, hips and back which forced her to use a cane indoors, and she has more energy.
Katrina says she has a new found energy and confidence since her incredible weight loss, and is looking forward to dating again
Katrina has even reversed problems like bulging blood vessels behind her eye which were discovered shortly before she had the operation, during an emergency hospital visit for a tear in her retina, and could have damaged her sight.
And Katrina’s daily diet has dramatically changed. She explained: ‘Before breakfast was toast or a sugary cereal followed by a snack of crackers and fruit; Lunch was sandwiches and crisps with a cereal bar afterwards, and dinner was meat, potatoes and vegetables – and lots of it!
‘Then I’d have a sandwich and, because that was so nice, a couple more.’
She added: ‘Then I’d have pudding, perhaps cake or half a packet of biscuits or giant cookies – and of course I’d buy the packet of five because they were only £1!’
Katrina admitted she feels like she has her health back – and says now she has sorted out her diet, she is keen to start concentrating on her fitness
Now breakfast is a green smoothie, fruit or home-made sugar-free granola with natural yoghurt; lunch is a salad or chicken or roasted chickpeas with salad, and dinner is chicken with salad or vegetables, or fish.
All meals are homemade and healthy, and she rarely eats processed foods.
Any snacks are high protein such as cheesecake made with a nuts and seeds base and cream cheese and raw honey topping, or a couple of Babybel cheeses.
Katrina admitted she is now a mother who takes her children ‘to the park and for walks’ and says she loves her new life
Katrina said: ‘I have got my health back, I can move! And now I’m the mum who plays in the park and goes for walks, not the mum who sits on the couch and watches TV, and even my kids – Katrina also has a son Kai, 12 – have noticed that.
‘Having focused on my eating I’m now going to concentrate on my fitness and do more exercise. I’m enjoying what I’m doing and I’m loving my life now. The surgery has saved it!
She added: ‘So now I’m also looking to find some to share it with and, finally, I have the confidence to do that!’
Before
Breakfast: Toast or a sugary cereal, crackers and fruit
Lunch: Sandwich, crisps, a cereal bar
Dinner: Meat, potatoes and vegetables
Evening snack: One or two sandwiches, pudding and slice of cake
After
Breakfast: Green smoothie, fruit or homemade sugar granola with natural yoghurt
Lunch: Chicken or roasted chickpeas salad
Dinner: Chicken, fish or vegetables with salad
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