Chanelle Hayes has shown off her seven-stone weight loss following her surgery and explained what lessons she has taken away from it.
The former Big Brother star, 33, recently underwent Bariatric surgery in a bid to lose weight and has now shared 'Before and After' images of herself at 242lbs prior to her surgery and 141lbs now following her surgery.
The two images show Chanelle standing in black underwear with her arms held outwards.
Alongside the snaps, Chanelle penned in a lengthy post: "5 lessons I have learnt since having weight loss surgery.
"1. It does not change my relationship with food. Bariatric surgery is only a tool, if I don’t use it consistently and correctly it will fail. Addressing abnormal relationships with food is so important if I want to become healthier physically and mentally."
She continued: "2. Not everyone will understand my choice and that’s ok because it is MY journey. “Just eat less and move more”, “you’ve taken the easy option”, are a few comments I’ve heard along the way. Believe me, it is not easy (wish it was!) and it was not an option I took lightly. But it has been the best decision I’ve made in terms of my health.
"3. Exercise is different now. I’ve always enjoyed working out (I’m actually a qualified PT, crazy as this may seem) but I actually feel proud to exercise and improve my body after all the junk I’ve been feeding it all these years. It’s my way of saying “hey body, I’m sorry for abusing you...here’s an olive branch” (or a dumbbell).
"4. Weight looks different on everybody. I am trying to stop focussing on other people’s weights because my only competitor is myself. Ten people could weigh exactly the same but have completely different body compositions. Selfishly (but thankfully) I now only care about myself and mine."
Chanelle added: "5. Even though I’ve lost weight, I’ve grown as a person. I have been every size you can think of and can empathise with the issues that come with them all. I realise people may plaster on a smile - at any size - but not be ok beneath the surface.
"Going through this experience has really given me a better understanding of private struggles and how easy it is to hide them."
She concluded: "Thought I would share this today on #womancrushwednesday because my #wcw this week is ME... and I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say that before. "
Former glamour model and television personality Nicola McLean commented: "Well done girl xx"
Big Brother and This Morning star Josie Gibson wrote: "Wow wow wow [applause emoji]".
Finally, one fan of Chanelle's commented: "Well done, looking amazing and what a journey - you have learnt a lot about your relationship with food and you haven’t taken the easy option by any means x".
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