Woman sheds 18 stone after fearing she'd die on the operating table

NationalWorld.com

A teacher lost 18st - after feeling like a 'hypocrite' for telling kids to live healthily.  Kelly Barker, 43, once weighed over 28 stone and was worried that she would die on the operating table if she opted for bariatric surgery

Transcript

00:00 I have been overweight my whole life.

00:03 If you can picture an overweight and unhappy 10-year-old

00:06 who was taught that being overweight was about punishment,

00:10 about shame, about embarrassment.

00:12 And those are kind of the messages that followed me through

00:15 for the rest of my adult life.

00:16 And every sort of failed diet attempt

00:19 made me feel even more worthless.

00:21 In desperation, I picked up the phone

00:24 and rang Fiona, my consultant,

00:26 and cried and begged her on the phone,

00:28 "Please help me."

00:30 I remember walking through the doors on that very first day,

00:32 being welcomed with a cuppa and a smile.

00:35 And it was that moment that I thought,

00:37 "Do you know what?

00:38 "I'm never gonna be alone on my journey again

00:39 "because I've got this most amazing team around me."

00:42 My group have been there for me every step of the way.

00:46 And I wouldn't be sat here today

00:48 if it wasn't for them and their support.

00:50 - Having Kelly in group is just brilliant

00:52 because she supports the members,

00:55 she inspires the members.

00:57 And I think it's all from the self-belief

00:59 that she's developed in herself,

01:01 from taking that initial step into group.

01:03 And I think as she's gone on in her journey

01:05 and that belief has just grown,

01:08 it just absolutely shows in group.

01:11 - Being a teacher is really important to me.

01:13 It's what I'd always aspired to be

01:15 from that 10-year-old who needed that inspiration and support.

01:19 So we've set up a healthy living initiative

01:22 and we've got little stickers that we wear that say,

01:24 "I made a healthy choice today,"

01:26 that the children wear with pride.

01:28 We cook such family-friendly, tasty food

01:32 and find just new ways to cook it

01:34 in a healthier way that all the family will enjoy.

01:37 At the start of my journey,

01:39 the thought of Body Magic would have literally

01:41 brought me out in a cold sweat.

01:42 So when my consultant said to me,

01:44 "It wasn't about having to necessarily join a gym

01:48 "or be head to toe in lycra,

01:50 "it was just about making small changes to my everyday life."

01:56 The moment that I walked through those doors

01:59 at Slimming World that very first time

02:02 was that moment the new me began in transformation.

02:07 If only I'd have known the life that was waiting for me

02:12 that Slimming World has given to me,

02:14 I would have done it years ago.

02:15 (upbeat music)

02:18 (upbeat music)

02:20 (upbeat music)

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