A crisp addict who chomped through a multipack per day has lost seven stone after gastric sleeve surgery - and is now splashing £12,000 to remove piles of loose skin. Melissa Jones, 38, saw her weight rocket after munching 24 packets of crisps a day, as well as eating fast food at least three to four times a week.
Unable to stick to diets or lose weight naturally, Melissa, then a size 24 and weighing 19st, decided enough was enough after not being able to fit in a pedalo seat on holiday with her young sons. After returning home in October 2013 she started looking into getting surgical help to shift her weight.
Melissa visited her GP, who suggested she applied for a gastric sleeve, and she was put on an NHS list. After a three-year wait, in February 2016, Melissa's surgery was confirmed and the GP told her that she'd have to lose at least two stone before the op to reduce the risk of medical complications.
Determined slim down, Melissa ate a strict yoghurt-based diet and was able to shift the weight needed. In May 2016 Melissa underwent NHS gastric sleeve surgery, which dramatically reduced the size of her stomach, and she lost six stone in just seven months - taking her to a dress size 14 and weighing 13st.
After maintaining her slimmer figure for 12 months, a bad break up saw Melissa slipping back to old ways and she soon found herself ballooning to 19st 9lbs. But the single mum-of-two didn't give up and in June 2020 underwent an NHS-funded gastric bypass.
A gastric bypass is when the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch thus restricting the amount of food that your stomach holds. Despite her success, Melissa, now a size 12 and 12st 6lbs, has been left with ''piles of sagging skin'' and is currently awaiting a body lift at a private hospital to remove it. She is funding her third surgery, which costs more than £12,000, using an early inheritance from her family.
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Melissa, a carer, from Hereford, said: "I was a massive comfort eater- it's always been my downfall. My go-to comfort food was crisps because of the crunch, I'd get one of those 24 multipackets and polish off the lot.
"I'd go on holiday with my two boys and I wouldn't be able to fit in the peddle boats. It was embarrassing for me and them. After the gastric sleeve I felt great but emotionally I was in a terrible place.
"I'd had a few broken relationships and my fibromyalgia had gotten worse. I was comfort eating and my mobility was awful.
"But after having a gastric band, I've felt great. The weight just dropped off me and I started to feel human again. I feel great and more importantly, I'm able to be the best version of myself for my two boys. Now I just need this excess skin removed and I can really start my life afresh.''
Melissa, who is mum to 15-year-old Macauley and Morgan, 10, credits her rocky relationship around food with always feeling like the ''bigger friend'' during her school years.
She said: "Growing up, I was always the bigger friend out of the group. It would get me down and so I'd comfort-eat. When I was in secondary school, I was wearing a ladies' size 18 skirt.
"I can't remember a time when I wasn't a size 18. Growing up, I never felt attractive compared to my friends who were slimmer - I just wanted to be 'normal'."
Melissa's turbulent relationship with food continued into her 20s and after the birth of her sons in 2007 and 2013. Desperate to lose weight, Melissa turned to yo-yo dieting, weight-loss groups and extreme calorie counting, but none of them made a long-term impact.
By October 2013 Melissa was 19st and decided to register for a gastric sleeve to be fitted at Gloucester Royal Hospital, Gloucestershire. A sleeve gastrectomy is where a large part of the stomach is removed so it's much smaller than it was before, resulting in an individual eating smaller meals and losing weight over time.
She said: "After trying and failing at shedding the weight, I knew I needed something drastic and so that's when I decided to get the sleeve fitted. I met the criteria for one and before I knew it, I had one booked.
"To prepare for the surgery, two weeks prior I was living on high protein foods such as yoghurt and milk and only allowed to eat up to 800 calories a day. I was nervous, but excited for my life to begin.
"It was hard to get used to initially because I was not only recovering from the keyhole surgery, but the change of lifestyle. But I felt really lucky that I'd had it done and I soon started to see results.''
By January 2017 the-mum-of two had lost six stone and had slimmed down to a size 14.
Melissa said: "I felt great and I was able to move around so much more. I even joined the gym and was able to play football with my boys. They were also proud of me, which meant the world."
Despite her amazing progress, a relationship breakdown as well health problems meant the mum-of-two once again turned to late-night snacks. While Melissa wasn't able to eat huge meals, she would regularly comfort-eat, gorging on multiple packets of crisps and chocolate each day. By July 2019 Melissa had put back on more weight than she'd lost.
"It was definitely my lowest point," she recalled. "To keep myself together for my boys, I just turned to takeaways for convenience and late-night snacking on crisps and chocolates.
''Cheese and onion was my real weakness. The trouble was I was unable to burn that off because of the pain I was in. It was emotional eating more than anything and I'd gone back to my teenage days when I'd shut myself off."
But not willing to give up, Melissa got funding for an NHS gastric bypass at the same hospital as her first surgery, in May 2016.
Melissa said: "I'd had enough of not being able to be the best version of myself for my two boys and I knew that something had to change. This was my second procedure and so I knew this time had to count long-term.
"Weight loss surgery is never a pleasant thing; you have to inject yourself with hormones in preparation and follow a strict diet. But I'd felt thankful to the NHS for having this second surgery because it's changed my life for good."
Since the surgery Melissa has been able to lose 7st 3lbs through healthier eating choices and regular exercise. The mum only eats one main meal a day, usually at lunch, and then will opt for something light for dinner.
Melissa said: "I try to cook most meals not only because it's heathier, but I enjoy it. I love a roast that is packed with vegetables and protein, but I do have a cheeky packet of crisps every now and then.
"I cook all the time now with a healthy version of lasagne, roast dinners and spaghetti bolognaise being the first favourites in my house. It's all about listening to my body, if I'm not hungry, I won't eat for the sake of it."
Melissa has even found a love for walking and maintains her slim 12st 6lbs figure.
"I've ditched the five-minute car drive to the shops in favour of the 15-minute walk," she continued. "I also walk to pick Morgan up from school and it's lovely that I'm physically able to do that now. He loves it too but I'm sure it won't last forever, as he'll be a teenager before I know it."
But she is awaiting her final procedure, a body lift, under private treatment that she hopes to have by summer. The treatment will remove excess skin from Melissa's arms and stomach and she has taken early inheritance from her mum's side of the family to fund it.
Melissa said: "I am really proud of the weight I've been able to maintain. Looking at old pictures of myself, I don't recognise the unhappy person in them.
"I'm really looking forward to getting my body lift - it will be the final flourish in my weight-loss journey. At the moment I'm always keeping my arms covered because I hate the way the skin sags.
"I still feel a bit gross because of my loose skin and I like to wear a long top that covers my stomach and bum. I'm hoping to have it done before our family holiday to Trecco Bay in Wales in June.
"I've told my boys that if all goes to plan, I'll be wearing a bikini. Now I'll be able to embarrass my kids on holiday for a very different reason."
