School teacher loses 18st after fearing she would die on operating table

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A teacher has lost a whopping 18 stone after fearing she would die on the operating table if she underwent recommended weight loss surgery.Kelly Barker, 48, knew she had to dramatically changed her life when her doctor recommended a procedure to lose weight, but she was terrified going under the knife would kill her.The mum-of-one decided to try and shed the pounds by focusing on her relationship with food and exercise, while working to create healthy habits.

And the hard work has paid off for Kelly, from Merseyside, who lost an impressive 18st and was named Slimming World's Woman of the Year 2023, the Mirror reports.The primary school teacher had struggled with her weight since she was a child and had an unhealthy relationship with food.

She has now dropped to a size 10 dress size in five years, previously being a size 32.She said: "I struggled with my weight my whole life.

As a child, I was placed on a special diet and had to be weighed at school. While the other children were eating fish and chips, I would have to eat a separate meal on my own - usually something bland like boiled fish and potatoes."It made me believe that weight loss was miserable, embarrassing and shameful, and it didn't work - I gained weight every year into my adulthood."Kelly, who lives with her 15-year-old son Josh, put on more weight when she went to university. "As soon as I had control over my own food choices, it was like the floodgates opened.