I was so fat I had to climb into cars sideways – then I went from a size 20 to 6 as I couldn’t face the shame any longer
A WOMAN who was so fat she had to climb in a car sideways has revealed her dramatic weight loss after dropping from a size 20 to a size six.
Hannah Tosi, 26, of the Wirral, Merseyside, once tipped the scales at 18st 9lbs but halved her weight in just eight months after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in Turkey.
She said her old 4,000-calorie diet consisted of fast food and microwave meals and she spent her days snacking on chocolate and crisps and guzzling down fizzy pop.
However, when the sales rep began to struggle to get her car seat belt over her stomach and hips, she knew something needed to change.
Hannah said: ” I couldn’t fasten my seatbelt in my car without going side first and then adjusting myself because my hips and stomach area would just spill over.
“I remember thinking ‘omg what have I done to myself?’ and I knew I needed to do something about this and take action now.
“I had just lost control of my life. I just looked at myself in the mirror and I couldn’t recognise myself both mentally and physically.
“I was eating so much rubbish and I felt so ashamed [of myself] I didn’t want to go to the gym because I didn’t want anyone to see me.
“I hid myself away from the world because I was embarrassed but because I wasn’t doing anything about it [my weight] I dug myself into a rut and couldn’t get out of it.
“This then led to me missing out on social occasions to hide away and comfort eating. I was stuck in an endless cycle.”
Gastric bypass surgery is a weight loss operation that involves creating a small pouch from the stomach and connecting this new section directly to the small intestines.
This procedure then reduces or ‘bypasses’ the majority of a person’s stomach and first section of their small intestines to help them lose weight.
The surgery can be offered on the NHS for adults with a BMI of more than 40 — meaning they are severely obese — or if they have a BMI of 35 to 40 and have a serious condition like type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.
Ineligible Brits who want to have an operation have to go private, where it can cost anywhere from £8,000 to £15,000 in the UK, according to the health service.
Many choose to go to Turkey for cheaper surgeries instead, but at least seven Brits have died after a procedure there since 2019, according to a BBC investigation.
Hannah flew to Adana in February to undergo a £3,200 two-hour procedure in February.
I don’t think I have ever been this positive in my life and I feel amazing
She now weighs 8st 13lbs and says she is the happiest and most confident she has ever been.
Hannah said: “I don’t think I have ever been this positive in my life and I feel amazing and it is so nice to be confident in myself and happy for once.
“Everyone has said to me that I look like a completely different person.
“I’ve had loads of comments from my friends.
“They’ve said I don’t even look like the same person anymore. I’ve lost more than half my body weight.
“I just couldn’t see myself getting rid of the weight on my own so I made the decision to get gastric bypass surgery.”
Hannah said growing up she had always struggled with her weight and in 2019, at 15 stone, she had a gastric band fitted in the UK.
But, when she suffered complications, Hannah had the band removed and ‘ballooned’ to 18 stone 9 — her heaviest recorded weight.
Hannah said: “My gastric band didn’t work so I had it removed and then I just ballooned to 18 stone.
“I know getting the gastric bypass surgery is a very drastic procedure but I couldn’t have done this without it.”
You do need to think about the mental battles of it too
After her gastric bypass surgery, Hannah flew back to England two days later where she said she initially suffered hair loss and anaemia because of the drastic change.
She said she also had to overcome the mental battles of losing nearly 11 stone in less than a year.
Hannah said: “I would always say to people that if you honestly believe that you can’t lose the weight on your own, then you should definitely consider gastric bypass surgery but you do need to think about the mental battles of it too.
“When you’ve been big all your life and then you start shifting all this weight, it’s quite hard to unsee yourself as bigger.
“After my surgery, I really struggled for the first three or four months.
“The scales were moving and I was having to wear smaller clothes sizes but when I looked in the mirror, I still felt big and it was hard to unsee my weight.
“Even when I was down to a size 12 and I was wearing size 12 jeans, I still didn’t feel smaller.
“It wasn’t until I got into the gym and started weight training that I began to notice the difference.
“You have to be quite mentally prepared to get bypass surgery.”
Eight months after surgery, Hannah says she loves her new body and has begun weight training and working out five times a week to build muscle.
She now eats five small meals a day that are high in protein and says she loves fruit and veg.
Hannah says she is also fortunate to have minimal loose skin too, despite her dramatic weight loss process.
Hannah said: “It was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I wish I had done it sooner.
“I went down to 8st 7lb but I have been going to the gym and weight training so I am now 8st 13lb after putting on some muscle.
“I love what I see in the mirror and I feel like I’m not starting to get some shape back on me which is nice to see.
“I am really lucky because I have been left with hardly any loose skin.
“This could be because of my age or my weight training so it means I won’t have to get surgery.
“I now eat five small meals a day instead of three meals and this will continue for the rest of my life.
“I actually enjoy fruit and veg now and you couldn’t have paid me to eat this beforehand.”