"There is only one person in our lifetime that we spend 24hrs a day, 7 days a week with, from birth to death; ourselves. It's an awfully long time to spend with someone you don't like very much!"

This was the quote that changed my life forever. At just 23 years of age and having been morbidly obese since I was 8, being called every fat name you could imagine, I finally cracked – I’d had enough.

I had heard about the gastric band procedure a few times, but really didn’t know much about it so I started looking on the Internet and researching the procedure. Looking at patient websites with their fantastic photos of success, I was crying, I was jealous, I wanted what those people had - a tool to help me lose weight, once and for all.

I had been on every diet there is and nothing had ever worked. I had hit rock bottom. I hated myself, I hated what I had become, I hated my life, I hated the world and I wanted it to be over. After discussing my options with my bariatric surgeon my choice then became clear and simple. I was going to have gastric band surgery and change my life forever!

On the 4th of April 2007 I underwent gastric band surgery at Epworth Hospital in Box Hill, Victoria. When I had the surgery I was over 150 kilos with a BMI of almost 50. Over the past 18 months I have had the most amazing journey full of both ups and downs, but the results far out weigh anything I have ever experienced.

I started to exercise within 2 weeks of having the surgery starting with just 10 minutes a day on my treadmill, I now run 10 kilometres several times a week along with bike riding, water aerobics, boxing and walking.

The smallest of things I am now very grateful for; only obese people would understand what it feels like to feel bones in your neck, to not break chairs in public places, to not be sweating 24 hours a day, to not be starred at and laughed at, and most importantly to not hate what you see in the mirror everyday.

The most difficult part of my journey was beating “head hunger”. I had to get used to what it actually felt like to feel full. I learned the difference between emotional hunger, head hunger and real hunger. This was the biggest battle for me personally.

During my journey I have also suffered from a slippage of my band and had to have more surgery to reposition the band. But as I told someone after I’d lost my first 30 kilos, if I had to have this surgery every year for the rest of my life to be healthy I would do it in a second.

There is not one day I regret my decision to finally give myself the life I have always wanted. I will forever be in debt to my surgeon and my support network of family and friends for giving me the tools that finally helped to lose over 80 kilos and change my life forever.

Share your story If you have had weight loss surgery and would like to share your story with us please email your story of approximately 500 word length and a before and after photo to bariatricedge@its.jnj.com

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