Sitting pretty... girl who lost 10st to save her life
TEENAGER Isabelle Kennedy shed almost 10 stone after rejecting weight loss surgery in favour of healthy eating.
Isabelle, 18, lost almost half her body weight after doctors said her weight was life-threatening.
The teen, who weighed 20st 11lbs, was so terrified of going under the knife she completely overhauled her diet and started taking her dog for long walks. She shed 9st 8lbs. Isabelle, of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, who joined Slimming World, dropped many dress sizes and her confidence soared.
Now she has been named Slimming World’s Young Slimmer of the Year.
Amazing
Isabelle, who weighs 11st 3lbs, has also reversed a form of liver disease.
She said: “Doctors told me that it was linked to obesity and losing weight would help. Surgery was never an option for me, so I joined Slimming World.
“I’ve now reversed the effects of the liver disease and have been discharged from hospital, which is an amazing feeling.”
The 5ft 10ins teen started gaining weight at the age of four.
Her mother Su had desperately contacted health experts about Isabelle’s ballooning waistline. But nothing seemed to work and Isabelle gained more and more weight.
During her time at secondary school she gained around eight stones as she increasingly turned to food for comfort – including pizza and chips for supper.
She would also stock up on chocolate, sweets and crisps on her way home from school.
After being diagnosed with liver disease and facing the prospect of surgery, in October 2014 she was inspired to give Slimming World a try by her mother, who had recently joined.
Isabelle said: “The biggest thing for me to overcome was stopping the emotional eating.
“This meant having to find other ways of coping.”
Isabelle, who has dropped from a size 24 to a size 12, hopes to go to university to study psychology this autumn.
She said: “Without losing the weight I wouldn’t have even thought about going to university – I wouldn’t have believed in myself enough.
“I don’t think I would have had the same sense of achievement if I’d lost weight through surgery. I’m so glad I did this myself.
“My mum’s lost five stones now too – so we’ve lost more than 14st between us.”