A 22st mum who would regularly eat takeaways and fast food for every meal says she has a new lease of life after dropping 9st and four dress sizes.
Chantelle Rickford ballooned to a size 24 after eating McDonalds meals for breakfast and lunch, and treating herself to a takeaway Indian for dinner - while snacking on up to 50 packets of crisps every week.
The 30-year-old from Northwood, London, decided to tackle her soaring weight by going under the knife and having a gastric band fitted in 2014.
The mum-of-one quickly lost four stone but suffered complications when the £6,000 band dissolved in her stomach three years later.
Before another operation to fit a gastric sleeve in 2019, Chantelle piled on another four stone.
However, now the nanny looks unrecognisable after dropping 9st and four dress sizes - feeling more confident than ever in her 12st 13lbs, size 14 frame.
She said: "I really have a new lease of life, I was living in a shell before I lost weight.
"I loved bread, pasta, cheese and takeaways and I would always go to McDonalds for breakfast and lunch - and usually end up ordering in an Indian or Chinese takeaway at night.
"I don't eat takeaways anymore because I love to cook. I can completely enjoy a normal lifestyle without worrying about what I'm eating.
"It really affected my confidence, I never got my arms out, I only wore long sleeved black tops and I didn't own a pair of jeans, I lived in leggings."
Chantelle's turning point came when her weight prevented her from having the confidence to apply for jobs and doctors warned that she was at a high risk of diabetes.
She said: "My weight affected relationships and I didn't work because I had no confidence.
"I don't think I would have been able to get a job because when you're that size, people think you're lazy which I was."
Determined to slim down, Chantelle ditched her takeaway habit in favour of smaller, healthier portions, hit the gym three times per week and had an operation to fit a gastric band.
However, Chantelle was forced to have the gastric band removed after it started dissolving in her stomach causing her to have seizures.
She said: "I was more bulimic with the gastric band than living a healthy lifestyle.
"I was really ill with seizures, it gave me eczema and I couldn't keep any food down."
The band was replaced with a gastric sleeve and two months ago, Chantelle travelled to Lithuania for a tummy tuck, costing £5,000 to perfect her body transformation.
She said: "My gastric sleeve was the best thing I'd ever done.
"I've got more life opportunities now I've lost weight"
"I have so much more power over food and what I eat.
"I can eat what I want but in smaller portions because my biggest problem before was portion sizes.
"When I was between the ages of five and ten, I wasn't big at all, I was the opposite, my mum took me to the doctors because I was a really fussy eater and I was quite small.
"When I got to ten, I started putting on a bit of weight and I had a baby at 16 so that made me gain weight.
"I am an emotional eater, whether I'm happy or sad and I'm a massive foodie.
"I'm not really skinny now because I like having curves, I like having a bum and hips."
Chantelle is speaking out about her weight loss to warn of the dangers of gastric bands.
She said: "I think people go for them rather than a sleeve because they're cheaper.
"Anyone thinking of getting a gastric band should really think about it because they can be really dangerous."
