27-year-old Alida Dreyer from Australia said she was dumped by her boyfriend as she was ‘too fat to conceive.
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Dreyer said that she was overweight even when she was young. She was then diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and her weight continued to increase until she reached 140 kilograms.
Her condition left a dent on her confidence but she started to go on dates when she was 18. She was 20 when she got her first boyfriend.
But when she turned 23 and decided to have a baby, Dreyer was told that she was too overweight to conceive. Her relationship with her boyfriend turn sour and they eventually broke up.
This forced Dreyer to lose 40 kilograms using a combination of exercise and diet. She also underwent vertical sleeve gastrectomy and managed to lose 33 kilos more.
“I have always been the ‘big girl’ ever since I can remember. Food was my vice and with it came a passion for cooking and baking,” Dreyer expressed.
“Whilst I could blame having ‘fat genes’ from both sides of my family or PCOS from aged 13, I was still given the tools to live a lifestyle that would prevent weight gain and chose not to use them. It was my addiction to food that lead to my previous weight.
“This addiction was fuelled by a difficult relationship with my mother who reminded me I was fat and shouldn’t be eating the foods I was. I felt like the only thing I could control in my life was the food I put in my mouth, so to have some control and spite others, I ate what I wanted and when I wanted. Any emotion I felt, I combated by eating. It was a vicious cycle.”
She continued: “At my largest I was 22st 11lb and wore a dress size 26. In a day I ate about 3,500 calories. Imagine weighing that much and trying to squeeze into an airplane seat, I had to ask for the belt extender and the arm rests dug so deeply into my thighs they left bruises.
“Oh, and I was judged by the air hostess. I couldn’t even walk 100m without my calves cramping and getting chafing so bad I bled.
“I was always sweating on hot Australian summer days and being intimate was impossible because your body can’t move the way it should.
“Besides my own family calling me fat all the time, other people said things like ‘You have a pretty face for a fat girl’ and ‘You’d be pretty if you lost weight’ and people sometimes made ‘Thump, thump, thump’ noises behind me. I was horrified and ran to the bathroom crying.
“I hated myself, I was self-harming, I thought about suicide. I didn’t want to live. I learnt to act confident and happy by being the person who constantly makes jokes. I felt like no one could love me the way I looked so I became the ‘yes girl’ who agreed to everything.”
Dreyer did her best to lose weight and it was only half of her battle. She was then left with excess skin which became infected. She then underwent three operations to have the excess skin removed.
“I have had three long and painful skin removals. One of which was 15 hours long,” she shared.
“I’ve lost more friends these last few years than in my entire life. As I started to lose weight and love myself, I found my self-worth and I realised I was worth more than people gave me credit for.
“I started saying no to people, started to grow a backbone and standing up for myself and friends moved away from me.”
She added: “I love myself sick now! I am strong, I am confident, and I am worthy. I believe that I’m worthy to live a life that I want to live, a life that I am proud of.
“When I look into the mirror now, I smile. I love each of my scars, they tell a different story of strength and of overcoming my demons.”
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