00:00 I was always the bigger one.
00:01 Whether I was happy, whether I was sad,
00:03 food was my escape, food was my go-to.
00:07 That was just me, everyone knew me as the big Anita,
00:09 plus-size Anita.
00:11 There was quite a few things that I faced
00:13 in terms of my health.
00:14 There was a lot of pressure building up on my brain,
00:16 so that affected my eyesight.
00:18 I was so overweight that I feared that I was going blind.
00:22 I really wanted to take control.
00:24 I decided to get the gastric sleeve.
00:26 It was the best decision for me to go with.
00:30 At my heaviest, I weighed 336 pounds.
00:33 I've lost 150 pounds.
00:35 If I didn't have confidence before,
00:36 I definitely, for sure, have confidence now.
00:40 Yeah!
00:43 When I was a child, I was definitely the chubbier kid.
00:46 Out of my peers, my family members, I would sneak eat.
00:49 So if my parents or anyone was going to sleep or so,
00:53 I would go and get a crisp, chocolate, sweets.
00:58 So it was the secret eating that crept up with me over the years.
01:01 Definitely had a bad relationship with food,
01:04 but at the time I didn't think it was a bad kind of situation.
01:09 I was so codependent, whether I was happy, whether I was sad,
01:12 food was my escape, food was my go-to.
01:15 I was just a typical young girl, you know,
01:17 confident, happy, bubbly.
01:19 Just, yeah, really outgoing, I would say, for me,
01:22 when I was younger.
01:23 I've always known that I was always the bigger one,
01:26 so I just kind of had to be confident.
01:28 There was no room for me not to be.
01:30 Cheers, guys.
01:32 I'll say there's so many instances where people would
01:36 outline it to me in terms of, like, just making rude remarks,
01:39 nasty comments.
01:40 So do you remember the situation that happened whilst we were away?
01:43 My birthday, Cyprus.
01:45 We was at the beach club, you know, enjoying ourselves,
01:47 having cocktails, and then the couple came over,
01:50 you know, complimented you.
01:52 "You're gorgeous."
01:53 And then when it came to me, I was just like,
01:55 "Oh, you're pretty for a big girl."
01:57 That was just so humiliating in that moment.
02:00 And it's just a backhanded compliment, isn't it?
02:02 So it's like you're saying something nice,
02:04 but at the same time, you're being so rude.
02:06 So rude.
02:07 With her being judged in public, it was quite sad
02:09 because it makes you angry.
02:11 You don't want to see that happening to, like, your best friend.
02:14 Look.
02:15 Oh, my goodness.
02:16 Yeah, that was during COVID.
02:17 That's when, like, you know, it started to really...
02:19 Oh, my gosh, when was this?
02:20 This was all during COVID.
02:22 No way.
02:23 Really?
02:23 I don't remember it.
02:24 Yeah.
02:25 It was so long ago.
02:26 It was so long ago.
02:27 Yeah.
02:28 But you still look so pretty, though.
02:30 Hmm.
02:31 She was always bubbly, confident.
02:33 Just little bits, though, like, that would stop her
02:35 from doing normal stuff, like tying her shoes and stuff.
02:39 I would have to do that for her.
02:40 But apart from that, everything was just normal to me
02:42 because it was always how it's been.
02:44 At my heaviest, there was quite a few things
02:46 that I faced in terms of my health.
02:48 I had severe back problems.
02:50 I also was facing a condition called
02:52 intracranial hypertension.
02:54 There was a lot of pressure building up on my brain,
02:56 so that affected my eyesight.
02:58 So over time, my eyes were getting blurry.
03:00 At 336 pounds, I was so overweight
03:03 that I feared that I was going blind.
03:06 Potentially losing your sight in your early 20s,
03:08 that was definitely something that scared me.
03:11 I didn't know whether this was something that, you know,
03:13 I was going to be dealing with for a long-term situation.
03:17 So at the time, it was very, very scary.
03:19 I'd say my lowest moment was during COVID.
03:21 I was trying to weigh myself,
03:23 and I noticed that on the scale,
03:25 my readings just weren't coming up.
03:26 The limit was, I think, 24 stone.
03:29 To realise that I'd let myself go to that extent,
03:31 it was really upsetting.
03:33 I really wanted to take control with things.
03:36 At first, I started eating healthy.
03:39 I started going on walks,
03:41 but then I realised the weight,
03:42 it was dropping off very, very slowly,
03:45 but it wasn't at a pace that I felt like it needed to be at,
03:49 especially with the health conditions
03:50 that I was facing at the time.
03:53 I decided to get the gastric sleeve.
03:55 Ultimately, I just realised I couldn't do it on my own,
03:58 that I needed a tool to kind of help me
04:00 get a control over things.
04:02 The work that I've put in,
04:04 I would say, is changing my eating habits,
04:07 exercising, making sure that I implement
04:09 just a healthier overall lifestyle.
04:12 I go to the gym, I do a few workouts at home,
04:15 I go on walks.
04:16 It's just kind of second nature to me now.
04:19 At my heaviest, I weigh 336 pounds.
04:23 It's taken me 14 months to lose 150 pounds.
04:27 I usually work out two to three times in a week.
04:32 These exercises make me feel really good.
04:34 They make me feel accomplished.
04:36 They let me know that I'm on the right track,
04:38 because there's many times before
04:39 I weren't able to do these things.
04:41 So now that I'm able to do them for a long period of time,
04:44 it makes me feel really good.
04:46 This dress, I wore at my heaviest
04:49 on my birthday last year.
04:50 It was so short, I had to keep pulling it down.
04:53 And as you can see, the comparison on me,
04:55 it's absolutely crazy.
04:57 It's like a long gown on me.
04:59 This represents where I used to be
05:01 and, yeah, where I am now.
05:03 I'll be wearing these heels tonight.
05:06 When I was big, I couldn't wear high heels at all.
05:09 My feet, they would just hurt.
05:11 I didn't have the balance,
05:13 and now I'm able to walk in heels
05:14 and heels this high comfortably now as well.
05:19 You know, I can get a good three hours out of these.
05:21 She goes places where she wouldn't usually go.
05:23 She wears things that she didn't usually wear.
05:25 So it's definitely the same her, but a newer version.
05:29 She just glows differently,
05:30 and she just enjoys herself so much more now.
05:33 Yes!
05:43 Yes, girl!
05:46 You look amazing.
05:47 Let's pop the shirts and get ready!
05:51 My new body, how I can describe it is just liberating.
05:55 I feel free now.
05:56 I can wear what I want.
05:59 I feel good.
05:59 I know I look good.
06:01 I feel amazing.
06:02 I feel great.
06:03 I feel liberated.
06:05 I just feel so happy and confident within myself.
06:09 I still want to be at a steady rate, how I am now.
06:12 I'm probably a bit smaller.
06:14 Of course, using a substantial amount of weight
06:16 in a short time frame, I am now left with loose skin.
06:20 So that's something that I'm working towards to get removed.
06:23 But someone told me two years ago
06:24 that this is how things will be for me now.
06:27 I'll say not at all.
06:28 If I didn't have confidence before,
06:30 I definitely for sure have confidence now.
06:32 Absolutely.
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