Source: gazettelive.co.uk
At over 25st, Stephanie Sykes believed she was a “waste of space”.
At one point, she was so heavy, she was more or less bedridden and would only leave her Billingham home if absolutely necessary.
Living with autism, which wasn’t diagnosed until 2018, Stephanie used food as a crutch and turned to it after the tragic death of her dad, Alan, in 2015.
But when her mum, Karen, 56, and twin sister, Katherine started going to Slimming World meetings, Stephanie became curious.
As she was bigger than them both she thought she should go too.
She went, and loved it, with the programme enabling her to completely change her life.
Today, the 25-year-old has lost over half of her bodyweight and is now at a healthy weight.
“I was feeling so low about myself, Slimming World was the only thing that was good at the time”, Stephanie said.
“At my biggest I was 25st 5lbs, that was in May 2017.
“I suffered from sciatica and I used to stay in bed all day.
“My weight was so bad I was more or less bedridden.
“I never even used to drive because I felt so anxious, it was more of a mental thing.”
Stephanie knew she had to change, and threw herself into her diet plan and exercise classes.
The weight gradually dropped off her, finally reaching her target of 11st 7lb.
But her journey wasn’t easy, and the drastic weight loss resulted in excess skin, something she hadn’t factored in.
“It was really hard to get my head around the fact it wasn’t fat, it was loose skin”, Stephanie, who works as a production technician, said.
“In December 2018, I went to the doctors, they told me only an operation would work.”
Loose skin is often an inevitable consequence of huge weight loss, and the operations aren’t cheap.
“I had to have two operations to remove the skin, both surgeries amounted to £18,000.
“I got a loan in order to pay for it.
“I’d gone through all that weight loss to still feel like rubbish, so I decided to get the surgery.
“It was a struggle but it was the last thing to get sorted on my journey.
“I could get more surgery on my legs but I’m happy with who I am now.”
Active life
The removal of the skin was one of the best things Stephanie ever did, and she’s continuing to eat healthily while maintaining her weight.
It’s enabled her to live a more active and fulfilled life.
She was also nominated for Slimming World’s woman of the year in 2019 – and finished in the top 10.
And she now wants to help others who are in the same situation she found herself in.
She is a successful blogger and has over 50,000 followers on Instagram.
“When I was bigger I thought losing that much weight was impossible”, she added.
“But I want to let people know that anyone can do it.
“I used to be scared to go on flights because I would need a seat belt extender.
“Now I’ve been paddleboarding and all sorts.
“All I want to do now is travel, go on more holidays and wear bikinis.”