A real life weight-loss story - Melissa Clarke

Energy to burn!

A HARD-WORKING MUM, MELISSA CLARKE WAS FINDING THAT NO MATTER HOW DEDICATED SHE WAS TO HER WORK-OUT AND HOWEVER MANY DAYS SHE TRAINED, SHE COULDN’T ATTAIN THE WEIGHT-LOSS SHE WAS AFTER. SHE SOUGHT EXPERT ADVICE ON A GASTRIC SLEEVE AND IT HAS CHANGED HER LIFESTYLE AND HER OUTLOOK. NOW, THRILLED WITH HER RESULTS, MELISSA IS FIT AND FULL OF ENERGY.

NAME: MELISSA CLARKE

AGE: 49

OCCUPATION: COMPLIANCE OFFICER

HEIGHT: 165CM

CURRENT WEIGHT: 50.9 KILOGRAMS

HEAVIEST WEIGHT: 106 KILOGRAMS

DAY OF SURGERY WEIGHT: 104 KILOGRAMS

HOW MANY KILOS DID YOU LOSE? 56 KILOGRAMS What was your relationship with food?

My relationship with food was ok, but I was not eating the right foods that I should have been, especially having thyroid disease. I only ate two meals a day lunch and dinner and sometimes I would only eat lunch and when I did eat, I would eat the wrong foods.

I trained for two years and in that time, I trained six days a week I still didn't eat right, however I did cut out the junk food. I drank a lot of Pepsi Max. I would have up six cans a day this did not help with my weight.

What motivated you to go on your weight-loss journey?

My motivation was to make changes in my life and to start with my weight as this was the main reason I was miserable and depressed. A couple of ladies at work had the procedure done and I watched their progress. I decided to look into the Gastric Sleeve, so I took myself to my GP and sought his advise.

He highly recommended me to have this procedure done and referred me to the experts. I was a bit sceptical at first, as having Hashimoto’s disease I wasn’t convinced that this was going to work. So, I rang the Doctor’s practice and had a chat with him about the procedure and how this would work with my thyroid disease.

The Doctor assured me that this will work and that he had help other patients with thyroid disease and it was successful for them. So, I decided I would give this a go, as what else do I have to lose, and I booked myself in.

How long had you battled with weight issues?

disease when I was 23 years old and that is when my weight-loss battles began. After the birth of my third child at the age of 35 I found it even hard to lose weight. Over the years, I found that I started to put more weight on. In 2014 I decide to join a gym trained six days a week only to drop one dress size, from 18 to 16.

This was heartbreaking, as all this hard work I was doing and I wasn’t getting the results that I should have. In 2019 I started working from home for six months and during that time, I was not leaving the house and I found myself at the weight of 106 kilograms.

I was miserable and I had to do something about it but didn't know what else I could have done. I started eating the right foods and walking but this wasn't enough to lose the weight that I wanted to lose.

What health problems did you face as a result?

In 2015 I had a mini transient ischemic attack (TIA), a brief blockage, only to find out I have a small hole in my heart. I could no longer train at the gym six days a week therefore this resulted in me gaining all that weight back on after all the hard work I had done for the last two years.

I struggle with depression even though you would never know it! As I got bigger I found I had less energy and everything was such an effort. This made me even more depressed as I am not the type of person who sits on their backside for too long.

I found myself sitting down for long periods of time and this was such a mental challenge for me I didn’t cope mentally at all.

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What made you decide on weight-loss surgery and which procedure was the right one for you?

I decided to take this weight-loss surgery to improve my health not wanting to run the risk of having a stroke or heart attack due to my weight.

Having Hashimoto’s disease has been not only a weight-loss problem but a mental one as well. Going from a size 8 when I was 23 years old to size 18 was not easy to get my head around and it was hard to overcome mentally. It took a long time for my mind to be ok with me not being a size 8 anymore.

I couldn't train at the gym anymore due to having a Mini TIA in 2015 which took me while to get over, so I decided that maybe the Gastric Sleeve would work for me. I decided on the sleeve because it was permanent and I didn't want to go with the band as it could move or stretch I thought the sleeve was the better option for me because of my illness.

Post-surgery, what have been some of the challenges?

Some of my challenges post-surgery included the puree stage after the operation and adapting to the change in some foods that I can no longer eat, like spicy and sweet foods.

I am very strict on what I eat now. I do not eat anything with sugar or fat in it. I also found eating five small meals a day a struggle at first, but now it’s just routine.

Any regrets?CALL THE

OBESITY SURGERY

I have absolutely no regrets! It was the GOLD COAST CLINIC best decision I have ever made for myself I wish I had done it sooner. I have a new Call 07 5564 6501 Suite 2, Pindara Professional Centre, FOR AN OBLIGATION FREE CONSULTATION. outlook on life a lot more energy and I am happy with how I see myself in the 8 - 10 Carrara Street, Benowa QLD info@surgerygoldcoast.com.au surgerygoldcoast.com.au ALL YOU HAVE TO LOSE IS THE WEIGHT. mirror again.

WEIGHT-LOSS SURGERY SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY

This procedure involves resection of about 85-90 percent of the stomach, converting the stomach from a large bag into a narrow tube, thus decreasing the amount of food that can be eaten. A sleeve gastrectomy provides extremely good rapid weight-loss, about 70-75 percent excess weight-loss.

Tel: 07 5564 6501

Dr Jason Free is one of Australia’s most highly-regarded experts in weight-loss surgery, with extensive specialist bariatric training, and is known as a foremost surgeon in the field.