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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Hannah Phillips & Jessica Taylor

'I lost 17st but excess skin 'stomach apron' means I won't let my fiancé see me naked'

A junk-food addict who topped the scales at 40 stone has shed nearly half her body weight - but she still won't let her fiancé see her naked.

Steffi Dobbs, 29, ditched takeaways, fizzy drinks and her favourite snack, pork pies, in January 2020 and has lost a phenomenal 17 stone.

But since losing the weight she's been left with sagging skin that she says has affected her confidence.

Steffi, from Abertillery, South Wales, said: "The skin affects my life daily. I hate it. If I didn't have it, I would be a lot more confident in myself.

"I have a full stomach apron which hangs down nearly to my knees.

"I still won't let my fiancé see me naked and I'm always buying clothes that are a lot bigger than me just to cover my stomach.

At her heaviest, Steffi weighed 40 stone (Kennedy News and Media)
Steffi stopped eating takeaways and ditched fizzy drinks (Kennedy News and Media)

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"To me, I feel depressed with the skin and I know it's just showing a massive achievement after losing the weight but it really gets me down."

Before dropping the pounds, Steffi's weight got her so down that she refused to leave the house for two years - even missing her brother's wedding.

She says she's struggled with her weight since she was at school - where she had to wear a boys' uniform because she was too big for the girls' sizes.

At her heaviest, Steffi became dependent on 52-year-old fiancé Mark Cox as her weight left her too depressed to leave the house.

She became nocturnal, eating mostly throughout the night as her depression took hold - but one day she decided to make a change.

"The day I decided to lose weight I forced myself to wake up early, make myself breakfast and forced myself to try some sit-down exercises that I found on YouTube," she said.

"Then when the weight started to drop off me, I was able to clean the house and move a lot more."

Steffi ditched takeaways and high-calorie snacks for three healthy daily meals, and drank water instead of fizzy drinks.

She continued with her YouTube workouts until Mark bought her a treadmill to exercise on.

Looking back on when she was heavier, Steffi admits her weight meant Mark had to do much of the work around the house.

Steffi's fiancé Mark, 52, bought her a treadmill (Kennedy News and Media)
Steffi has been left with lots of excess skin (Kennedy News and Media)

"He would work, come home, clean the house, cook us dinner and take care of our dogs and he also did the shopping," she recalled.

"I couldn't even answer the door to the postman because my anxiety got so bad.

"I couldn't stand up or walk very far, the furthest I walked was to the bathroom and back to the bedroom. My legs and back would give way."

After her incredible weight loss, Steffi is pleased with her progress but still feels incredibly self-conscious about her excess skin.

She aims to lose another 10 stone before reaching her goal weight, when she plans to have a tummy tuck to remove the skin.

The operation, which isn't usually available on the NHS as it's classed as a cosmetic procedure, costs around £6,000

Steffi said: "I am one hundred percent healthier after losing the weight and I'm the proudest I've ever been in my life.

"I can walk, cook, clean, see family and do things for my fiancé instead of him doing everything for me.

"It's definitely not easy but you need to stick with it. Getting rid of the skin would change me completely. It's the final step, I'd feel amazing."

Have you had an incredible body transformation? Email jessica.taylor@reachplc.com

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