I shed half my weight to avoid gastric surgery
Isabelle, 18, named Young Slimmer of the Year
A TEENAGER who lost half her body weight after being told she might need gastric bypass surgery has won a top slimming award.
At her heaviest, Isabelle Kennedy, 18, was cruelly nicknamed Hagrid at school after the giant in Harry Potter.
She said: “I had no self confidence and hated myself. It breaks my heart to say that now. I’m a different person.”
Isabelle, who is 5ft 10in, has been crowned Slimming World’s Young Slimmer of the Year 2017 after going from 20st 11lb to 11st 3lb.
She was diagnosed with liver disease aged 15. Doctors suggested she might need the operation but she decided to slim down on her own.
Mum Su inspired her to join Slimming World and she followed their plan for 11 to 15-year-olds. She said: “I was a recluse. I was called Hagrid but didn’t let it bother me as my friends stuck up for me. Emotional eating was the biggest challenge because I had a huge psychological relationship with food.
“I went through a family divorce which acted as a trigger. I was a comfort eater and would come home from school and binge. Addressing that relationship was the first thing I had to do.”
Isabelle, from Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, also started exercising and found it helped her cope with stress.
She said: “I do things like going for long walks or a run. Getting outside is always really positive for your mood.”
Isabelle no longer has liver disease and now hopes to study psychology at university. She said: “I’d never considered it before. I’m way more confident.”
But rather than living on Pot Noodles and takeways, she is determined to be a healthy student. She said: “I’ll always go to a Slimming World group because it’s so important not just to my physical health but also my mental wellbeing.”