A fast food addict mum who gorged on McDonald's three times a day finally shed 14 stone - after she became too fat to fit in her friend's kitchen. Melanie Malone said she'd struggled with her weight from a young age with cruel classmates branding her the Michelin Man and Bruce Bogtrotter, destroying her self-esteem.
The 31-year-old claims it triggered a vicious cycle of binge eating for comfort, which saw her gobble down around £5,400 worth of takeaways a year. In 2018, 5ft 3in Melanie tipped the scales at 23 stone and reached a dress size 28.
The mum-of-one said that at her largest every day was a challenge as she struggled to walk, would break seats and was even unable to fit in her friend's kitchen or into the bath. But when her best friend passed away from a heart condition in September 2021, the reiki practitioner was spurred into leading a healthier lifestyle before jetting off to Turkey for a gastric sleeve in April.
Melanie now weighs just over nine stone and has dropped a staggering nine dress sizes and now confidently dons slinky size 10 dresses and feels 'amazing', both mentally and physically. The singer is now keen to share her story in a bid to encourage others struggling with their weight and to break the stigma around weight loss surgery as being 'the easy way out'.
Melanie, from Tameside, Greater Manchester, said: "I was a massive binge eater. Fizzy drinks were my crutch. I would drink so many cans of diet coke a day it was ridiculous. At the most, I'd have six cans a day.
"Crisps were my kryptonite. I'd sit and eat 10 bags of Space Raiders and hide all the empty packets in the big packet so it didn't look like I'd eaten them all. My friend called me 'the McCoy's lady' because I'd eat so many crisps at my desk. I'd go through packet after packet and could eat four in less than an hour.
"I had takeaways pretty much every night for around four years. I never cooked, there was only one thing that I'd cook and it was Mexican and it was full of calories. If it wasn't a takeaway I'd have McDonald's. I'd eat McDonald's three times a day, so I'd have it in the morning, dinner and for my tea."
Melanie said when her binge eating was at its worst, she'd scoff four breakfast rolls stuffed with bacon, sausage and hash browns before 10:15am. She'd also gulp down six cans of diet coke and spend at least £10-15 on takeaways a day.
Melanie said that she'd developed an unhealthy relationship with food from a young age and started to pack on the pounds as a teen. Melanie said: "I'd say from around the age of 12 I went through a lot of bullying because I started to put on a little bit of weight and that just made the situation worse and I'd comfort eat.
"I remember being 15 and being 15 stone, I was really heavy at such a young age, it was as if my age matched my weight. In school I'd get called all sorts of names. I remember there was one boy who used to sing this song to me 'ba ba ba ba ba, Mc Melanie's'.
"I also got called the Michelin Man. It was around the time that the Michelin tyre man was out. I just used to get called fat all the time - fatso, fatty. They always used to compare me to Dawn French and anyone big, like Miss Trunchbull or Bruce Bogtrotter.
"It was just a constant reminder from kids every day that I was big. I've forgiven and removed any resentment from anything towards all this, we were just kids. The name-calling was really difficult, which then just made me just go into myself and not really want to share who I was. It just completely changed who I was and became.
"I just didn't like myself. I didn't like who I was so I put on this persona of a class clown. It made me feel very sad. I was comfort eating throughout my life. Food was my comfort, it helped me through break-ups and when I needed it and obviously after a while it would become very unhealthy and unhelpful."
The dog lover said that her weight had yo-yoed throughout her life, as she'd fluctuate from 12 stone to 18 then back down to 14 and then up to 22. But she says when she was at her largest life was particularly difficult.
Melanie said: "Everything was a challenge. I couldn't walk up the stairs without getting out of breath, sitting on the toilet or getting into toilet cubicles when they were small. If I was going to go for a meal I'd already be thinking 'how big are the spaces between the chairs? Will I be able to squeeze through there? Is it going to be embarrassing? Am I going to fit in the chair?'
"Chairs always used to break all the time. I couldn't fit in any plastic or patio chairs, they'd always snap. These are physical effects but I think for myself it was more a mental effect it had on me, it was very overwhelming.
"I went to Blackpool on one of the rides and they couldn't close the seat belt. I couldn't fit in my friend's kitchen. I could fit into the entrance but after stepping foot into it, I couldn't move anywhere because it was like a walkway.
"I couldn't bend down in the shower and was too fat to fit in the bath. I also couldn't fit in hot tubs - anything that involved me taking my clothes off and exposing myself was just tormenting."
A turning point came when Melanie's best friend passed away from a heart problem, which led her to bite the bullet and book her weight loss surgery, which she'd wanted from the age of 18. After trying every diet under the sun and exhausting all other options, she paid £2,500 to have it done in Turkey.
Beforehand, she did an in-depth self-development course on nutrition and mental health to get her in the strongest mindset possible before such a life-changing procedure. She'd also lost some weight and was just over 19 stone.
Melanie said: "I just felt like I didn't want to leave my daughter without a mum, I wanted to be here. I knew that I needed to make life changes. When I took that step to have the surgery I was really thinking about what I wanted and what would help me. I felt that for myself, I had to take this drastic step.
"This is a kick start for me and has started me for the rest of my journey of looking after myself. I feel amazing. I cry daily at how grateful I am - that I have another day, not even that, that I'm able to get up out of bed and move, bend, stretch and walk.
"Before in the summer I'd be wearing jumpers and leggings, I could never wear anything I wanted. Whereas now I don't like wearing clothes, who needs clothes? I wear shorts, sleeveless and vest tops and I've been out without a bra on. I just feel free, light, healthy and happy. I'm full of love and joy. It's so life-changing.
"I physically cannot drink fizzy drinks again or have sugar, these are things that I'm very strict on and now I give my body what it needs, rather than what my mouth wants."
As well as transforming her relationship with food, the singleton now leads an active lifestyle involving walking and swimming, and aspires to climb to Everest Base Camp by the time she's 40. Melanie said: "At first I was a little bit scared of sharing because there's quite a bit of stigma attached with people having gastric sleeves and how some have an opinion of it being an 'easy way out'.
"Believe me, it isn't. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. I'd say to others that getting the surgery isn't shameful. I feel like there's a lot of shame put on weight loss surgery."
