“I gained 17st in two years to please my boyfriend”
At just 18 years old, Kirstie Mouncey weighed a staggering 35st and was housebound. But she was too scared to lose weight in case her first love broke up with her
Tipping the scales T at 35st aged 18, Kirstie Mouncey thought nothing of polishing off four takeaway pizzas in one go before reaching for chocolate.
But despite hating her body, Kirstie decided to ditch the diets at the age of 16 to keep her boyfriend Alex happy – and in the first two years they were together, she put on a shocking 17st.
It was only when Kirstie became housebound in 2012 that she decided something needed to change.
Now Kirstie is a svelte size 16, weighs 15st, and says she is more confident than ever.
Kirstie, who lives in Hull with friends, says, “I was always selfconscious about my weight and was bullied at school. But when Alex and I got together, and he told me that he liked larger ladies, I felt I could finally stop battling with my weight.
“But being housebound at the age of 18 meant that I didn’t have a life. I was missing out on so much. So, in 2014, my family paid for me to have a gastric band and I’ve lost 21st in three years. I feel better, look better and finally have some confidence.”
BULLIED
Growing up, Kirstie had always struggled with her size, and by the time she was 11, she weighed 15st.
She says, “My nanna, Helen, 75, raised me and my little brother, Layton. My dad died when I was six and my mum had issues so she couldn’t care for us.
“I loved my nan’s cooking. She’d make chicken casseroles and huge roast dinners, which she’d serve with three types of potato – boiled, roasted and mashed. I would eat all mine and everyone else’s leftovers.
“Often, I wasn’t even hungry and didn’t even taste the food. But when I was eating, it was a distraction from how miserable I felt, because I was bullied at school. They would call me ‘fatty’ and laugh at me. By the time I left school at 16, I weighed 18st.”
It was then, in 2010, that Kirstie met Alex through an online dating site.
She says, “Alex was 28 and admitted that he liked big women and didn’t want me to slim down. We fell in love straight away and, for the first time, I felt good about myself. He gave me confidence and made me feel beautiful.”
Feeling the happiest she’d ever been, Kirstie and Alex would eat up to two takeaways a day.
She says, “We thought nothing of having a large Burger King meal followed by a pepperoni pizza with sides of garlic bread, potato wedges and chicken wings. I avoided the scales as much as possible but, as the months went by, my clothes got tighter and I got bigger and bigger. In less than two years, I put on 8st.”
In 2012, Kirstie saw an advert for a Big Beautiful Women pageant and decided to apply.
She says, “Alex was really proud of me. At 17 years old and weighing 26st 11lbs, I was both the youngest and the heaviest contestant there. I featured in newspapers and even appeared on TV. I pretended I was proud of my figure and that I wanted to show teens that they should be happy no matter what their size, but I was actually mortified by all the attention.
“I was heavily trolled too, which really knocked my confidence. People said I was fat and ugly, and one person even suggested I should kill myself. It was horrible.”
TURNING POINT
After getting to the final of the competition, Kirstie continued to pile on the pounds, eating up to 10,000 calories a day.
Kirstie says, “Alex and I lived on takeaways. I’d have a bag of crisps and biscuits for breakfast and a whole chicken for lunch. For dinner, I’d gorge on Mcdonald’s and have four double cheeseburgers, two bags of fries, two strawberry milkshakes and countless doughnuts. I’d also down at least 20 litres of Lucozade a day.
“My nanna was really worried about me and begged me to lose weight, but it fell on deaf ears. The competition had celebrated my weight and I really thought that being fat was fine. In fact, I was proud of myself for the first time.”
But as Kirstie’s weight increased, her health started to decline. She suffered with high blood pressure and
❛I BECAME SUICIDAL AND THOUGHT EVERYONE WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME❜
couldn’t even dress herself or walk down the stairs without help. By the time she was 18, she weighed 35st and was virtually housebound, with Alex claiming benefits to officially become her carer.
She says, “I couldn’t even leave the house because I’d become too tired from walking and struggled to fit on the seats on public transport, which was mortifying. I felt worthless and became suicidal. I thought everyone would be better off without me.”
The turning point came when Kirstie’s little sister, Cody, 10, came to visit her from Stratford-upon-avon.
Kirstie says, “I couldn’t take her to the park or even play with her and I worried what example I was setting. I realised I wanted to be there for her.
“Nanna had been going on about me having a gastric band and, despite my refusal at first, she wore me down. I accepted the fact I was killing myself and she was offering a lifeline.”
Kirstie’s grandparents and aunt offered her £8,000 from their savings so she could have a gastric band privately as there was a long wait on the NHS.
Doctors at the Claremont Hospital in Sheffield warned Kirstie about the huge risks of going through with the operation, and that she might not survive – but Kirstie was determined.
She says, “I was dying anyway, so it was worth it for a chance at having a life. I was killing myself with food. I worried Alex would be disappointed, but he was supportive and told me he loved me for me, not my size.”
FINALLY CONFIDENT
The operation was three hours long and Kirstie said she immediately felt the benefits, never feeling hungry and only managing to eat two or three mouthfuls before feeling full.
She says, “The weight dropped off – within the first six months I’d lost 8st. It was exciting and, with every stone I lost, I grew in confidence.”
But as a result of her changing lifestyle, Kirstie and Alex grew apart and, in February last year, they broke up.
Kirstie says, “Alex was my first love, so I’ll always care about him. But we became different people compared to who we were when we first met, and I think he’d rather I’d stayed bigger. But that’s not who I wanted to be. I don’t blame him for my weight gain; I knew what I was doing.”
Now Kirstie weighs 15st and wears size 16 clothes.
She says, “At my biggest I was a size 36 and spent my days only wearing dressing gowns because it was all I felt comfortable in – now I love wearing dresses and enjoy shopping. And since I’ve been single I’ve had a lot of male attention. I’ve still got excess skin, but I don’t plan on getting rid of it until I reach my target size.
“Food isn’t my life any more and I’m excited to see what the future holds. My dream is to be a size 10 and I’m determined to get there and put the past behind me. I’d love to have a family of my own and to actually do something with my life”