Woman who turned down gastric band and jabs has now lost 9st

A woman rejected gastric band surgery on the NHS because she ‘wanted to do it the hard way’ and has since shed nine dress sizes. Melanie Sivier, 38, tipped the scales at 159kg – 25st – at her peak – blaming the weight gain on steroid medication, comfort eating and difficulties in her personal life.

Following a holiday with her mum and sister, she resolved to take action and, upon her return, consulted her GP – who suggested gastric band surgery. However, Melanie refused, opting instead to join the gym, ensuring she completed 10,000 steps daily and transforming her diet. She now weighs 98kg – 15st 6lbs – and has gone from a size 32 to a size 14.

Melanie, a finance worker from Croydon, south London, said: “I have just never felt comfortable having something done to lose weight when I know I can do it naturally if I am just patient. Especially with the whole Mounjaro Ozempic phase now, I just don’t feel like there is enough evidence that you are not going to have problems when you are older.

“People who go on the jabs to lose weight have to stay on them to maintain it. I find that scary. It is only meant to be for diabetes, and companies are selling it to people.”

Melanie revealed that her weight during school was so severe it resulted in hypertension, leading to fluid accumulation on her brain, which permanently affected her eyesight. While at college, she experienced depression linked to body image and turned to comfort eating takeaways or puddings and consuming wine, which simply exacerbated matters.

It was during a girls’ holiday in 2011 with her mum and sister that Melanie finally resolved it was time to turn her life around. She began swimming and doing aqua Zumba every day for a year, starting with just 25-minute sessions, while overhauling her diet — dropping from a size 32 to a size 26.

Feeling ready to take things further, she began hitting the gym six times a week, walking 10,000 steps daily. Melanie follows a calorie deficit, weighing her food — particularly carbohydrates — while maintaining a high-fibre, high-protein diet and drinking five litres of water each day. She has also abstained from wine for 11 years and can no longer even tolerate the smell of it.

She said: “I realised that I needed to sort my life out and get healthy. I had felt so low for such a long time and I didn’t want to feel like this anymore.

“Everything just completely changed, it was great. The weight just fell off over a period of time. I am so glad that I started with just small changes.

“It is not about starving yourself, it is about eating the right things that are good for you and nutritious. I still eat three meals a day.”

Yet the weight loss journey has not been without its difficulties, as Melanie suffers from arthritis in her hips and has excess skin on her arms and stomach. The skin has become prone to tearing due to its fragility, requiring her to use padding underneath to keep the affected areas dry.

She said: “It has been a great journey, but what is left is a lot of skin. Because I work out so much and sweat so much that my skin has thinned to the point where it has actually split about five times, which has been unimaginably painful.

“It is really hard. Sometimes I just feel trapped in my own body. I have breakdowns whenever I am getting ready to go out with friends to socialise because I can’t show my arms and I have to wear something that covers my stomach.”

Following a visit to her GP, Melanie was told she would not be eligible for skin removal surgery on the NHS. A private surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital in London has quoted her £18,195 for the procedure, a sum she is currently unable to meet.

Melanie also suffers from a cardiac condition known as Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which causes palpitations and rules out the possibility of pursuing less expensive surgery overseas. Encouraged by her friends, she launched a GoFundMe page which has since collected upwards of £2,000.

She said: “I have been told by the NHS that they won’t help me because I didn’t have the gastric band. That was devastating.

“After my private consultation I just felt so safe and so validated. Then they sent me the price list and I was in shock.

“I am one of those people who lives month to month, I don’t have massive savings. I still live in a house share because of the cost of living.

“I know it is only £2,000, but it is quite overwhelming. I did not think that anyone was going to actually donate.”