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A new mum who once weighed 170kg after ‘almost eating herself to death’ has revealed how she lost more than half her body weight in an incredible transformation.
Claire Burt31, from New Zealand, was “barely living and just existing” before undergoing life-changing gastric sleeve surgery.
Standing 182cm tall and weighing 170kg, Claire admitted she was desperate to save her own life.
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“An eating disorder completely took over my life and I gained so much weight that I could hardly function or even move, which affected me so much mentally,” says Claire 7 Life.
Claire’s body image issues started in childhood.
“I was taller than the average kid, so I struggled with bullying. I went from bulimia to anorexia and then binge eating,” she explains.
At her worst, Claire would binge on huge amounts of food such as “two large pizzas and two sides in one sitting”.
“Sometimes it was seven McDonald’s burgers – I’ve even gone as far as eating 50 chicken bites in one go and then having a burger right after,” she says.
“I had mentally withdrawn and didn’t want to stay alive, I stopped seeing people and isolated myself and hardly ever got out of bed.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t reach over and wipe my bottom properly or clean it, so I had to ask my mum to come and help me.”
This was the catalyst that made Claire realize it was time to make a drastic change.
Claire wanted to get her life back and be healthy, so she decided to undergo the transformative surgery.
“I had gastric sleeve surgery where they cut out 80 per cent of your stomach – I had rare complications afterwards and almost died,” explains Claire.
“I had to have another operation to fix what happened, but luckily everything went well after that.”
Claire lost an impressive 80kg in her first year after the operation and has now lost a total of 92kg.
“Having gastric sleeve surgery was the best thing I ever did for myself and my health – I finally got my life back,” she says.
“I have a whole new relationship with food that I never had before the surgery.”
It’s now four years since Claire had life-changing surgery, but she says the food restrictions are still there.
“I can only eat small portions at a time. I don’t stop eating anything in particular, but I’ve obviously developed a healthy relationship with food where I know how to stop and also don’t obsess over it,’ she says.
Before Claire underwent the operation, she was told she would not be able to have children because of her weight.
“I was heartbroken as it was all I ever wanted; “I wanted to be a mother since I was little,” she says.
“I was a babysitter for 10 years after high school because I loved kids and looking after them.”
Having children was one of Claire’s biggest motivators – she now has a nine-month-old daughter, Lulu, and is pregnant with another on the way.
Claire says the biggest change she experienced after the operation was that she “started to live”.
“I started socializing and working again and made memories I never thought I’d experience,” she says.
Looking at old photos now, Claire realizes how far she’s come.
“It makes me sad to remember how sad and lost I was, but also so happy about how far I’ve come and the life I have now,” she says.
When it comes to others struggling with their weight or considering gastric sleeve surgery, Claire’s best advice is to “keep going”.
“My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner, it saved my life in so many ways,” she adds.
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