336lbs & A Gastric Sleeve Saved My Life | BRAND NEW ME
27-YEAR-OLD content creator Anita has never lacked confidence, but has struggled with her weight for as long as she can remember: "I was always the bigger one... Everyone knew me as 'The Big Anita', 'Plus-Size Anita'." She attributes this to "secret eating" growing up, whenever her parents were not watching - and when her dependance on food carried through into adulthood, it was not long before she started experiencing terrifying health issues: "There was a lot of pressure building up on my brain, so that affected my eyesight. I was so overweight that I feared that I was going blind." Anita recorded her heaviest weight of 336lbs and decided it was time to "take control". Making changes to her diet and committing to an exercise regime, Anita started shedding weight, but the health conditions she was facing meant she did not have time on her side - so she elected to have gastric sleeve surgery. 14 months of hard graft later, Anita has lost an incredible 150lbs and has never been happier: "I feel free now - I can wear what I want, I feel good, I know I look good... I just feel so happy and confident within myself."
Follow Anita:
https://www.tiktok.com/@anitab_x
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Follow Anita:
https://www.tiktok.com/@anitab_x
https://www.instagram.com/anitab_xx
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FunTranscript
00:00 I was always the bigger one.
00:01 Whether I was happy, whether I was sad,
00:03 food was my escape, food was my go-to.
00:07 That was just me, everyone knew me as the big Anita,
00:09 plus-size Anita.
00:11 There was quite a few things that I faced
00:13 in terms of my health.
00:14 There was a lot of pressure building up on my brain,
00:16 so that affected my eyesight.
00:18 I was so overweight that I feared that I was going blind.
00:22 I really wanted to take control.
00:24 I decided to get the gastric sleeve.
00:26 It was the best decision for me to go with.
00:30 At my heaviest, I weighed 336 pounds.
00:33 I've lost 150 pounds.
00:35 If I didn't have confidence before,
00:36 I definitely, for sure, have confidence now.
00:40 Yeah!
00:43 When I was a child, I was definitely the chubbier kid.
00:46 Out of my peers, my family members, I would sneak eat.
00:49 So if my parents or anyone was going to sleep or so,
00:53 I would go and get a crisp, chocolate, sweets.
00:58 So it was the secret eating that crept up with me over the years.
01:01 Definitely had a bad relationship with food,
01:04 but at the time I didn't think it was a bad kind of situation.
01:09 I was so codependent, whether I was happy, whether I was sad,
01:12 food was my escape, food was my go-to.
01:15 I was just a typical young girl, you know,
01:17 confident, happy, bubbly.
01:19 Just, yeah, really outgoing, I would say, for me,
01:22 when I was younger.
01:23 I've always known that I was always the bigger one,
01:26 so I just kind of had to be confident.
01:28 There was no room for me not to be.
01:30 Cheers, guys.
01:32 I'll say there's so many instances where people would
01:36 outline it to me in terms of, like, just making rude remarks,
01:39 nasty comments.
01:40 So do you remember the situation that happened whilst we were away?
01:43 My birthday, Cyprus.
01:45 We was at the beach club, you know, enjoying ourselves,
01:47 having cocktails, and then the couple came over,
01:50 you know, complimented you.
01:52 "You're gorgeous."
01:53 And then when it came to me, I was just like,
01:55 "Oh, you're pretty for a big girl."
01:57 That was just so humiliating in that moment.
02:00 And it's just a backhanded compliment, isn't it?
02:02 So it's like you're saying something nice,
02:04 but at the same time, you're being so rude.
02:06 So rude.
02:07 With her being judged in public, it was quite sad
02:09 because it makes you angry.
02:11 You don't want to see that happening to, like, your best friend.
02:14 Look.
02:15 Oh, my goodness.
02:16 Yeah, that was during COVID.
02:17 That's when, like, you know, it started to really...
02:19 Oh, my gosh, when was this?
02:20 This was all during COVID.
02:22 No way.
02:23 Really?
02:23 I don't remember it.
02:24 Yeah.
02:25 It was so long ago.
02:26 It was so long ago.
02:27 Yeah.
02:28 But you still look so pretty, though.
02:30 Hmm.
02:31 She was always bubbly, confident.
02:33 Just little bits, though, like, that would stop her
02:35 from doing normal stuff, like tying her shoes and stuff.
02:39 I would have to do that for her.
02:40 But apart from that, everything was just normal to me
02:42 because it was always how it's been.
02:44 At my heaviest, there was quite a few things
02:46 that I faced in terms of my health.
02:48 I had severe back problems.
02:50 I also was facing a condition called
02:52 intracranial hypertension.
02:54 There was a lot of pressure building up on my brain,
02:56 so that affected my eyesight.
02:58 So over time, my eyes were getting blurry.
03:00 At 336 pounds, I was so overweight
03:03 that I feared that I was going blind.
03:06 Potentially losing your sight in your early 20s,
03:08 that was definitely something that scared me.
03:11 I didn't know whether this was something that, you know,
03:13 I was going to be dealing with for a long-term situation.
03:17 So at the time, it was very, very scary.
03:19 I'd say my lowest moment was during COVID.
03:21 I was trying to weigh myself,
03:23 and I noticed that on the scale,
03:25 my readings just weren't coming up.
03:26 The limit was, I think, 24 stone.
03:29 To realise that I'd let myself go to that extent,
03:31 it was really upsetting.
03:33 I really wanted to take control with things.
03:36 At first, I started eating healthy.
03:39 I started going on walks,
03:41 but then I realised the weight,
03:42 it was dropping off very, very slowly,
03:45 but it wasn't at a pace that I felt like it needed to be at,
03:49 especially with the health conditions
03:50 that I was facing at the time.
03:53 I decided to get the gastric sleeve.
03:55 Ultimately, I just realised I couldn't do it on my own,
03:58 that I needed a tool to kind of help me
04:00 get a control over things.
04:02 The work that I've put in,
04:04 I would say, is changing my eating habits,
04:07 exercising, making sure that I implement
04:09 just a healthier overall lifestyle.
04:12 I go to the gym, I do a few workouts at home,
04:15 I go on walks.
04:16 It's just kind of second nature to me now.
04:19 At my heaviest, I weigh 336 pounds.
04:23 It's taken me 14 months to lose 150 pounds.
04:27 I usually work out two to three times in a week.
04:32 These exercises make me feel really good.
04:34 They make me feel accomplished.
04:36 They let me know that I'm on the right track,
04:38 because there's many times before
04:39 I weren't able to do these things.
04:41 So now that I'm able to do them for a long period of time,
04:44 it makes me feel really good.
04:46 This dress, I wore at my heaviest
04:49 on my birthday last year.
04:50 It was so short, I had to keep pulling it down.
04:53 And as you can see, the comparison on me,
04:55 it's absolutely crazy.
04:57 It's like a long gown on me.
04:59 This represents where I used to be
05:01 and, yeah, where I am now.
05:03 I'll be wearing these heels tonight.
05:06 When I was big, I couldn't wear high heels at all.
05:09 My feet, they would just hurt.
05:11 I didn't have the balance,
05:13 and now I'm able to walk in heels
05:14 and heels this high comfortably now as well.
05:19 You know, I can get a good three hours out of these.
05:21 She goes places where she wouldn't usually go.
05:23 She wears things that she didn't usually wear.
05:25 So it's definitely the same her, but a newer version.
05:29 She just glows differently,
05:30 and she just enjoys herself so much more now.
05:33 Yes!
05:43 Yes, girl!
05:46 You look amazing.
05:47 Let's pop the shirts and get ready!
05:51 My new body, how I can describe it is just liberating.
05:55 I feel free now.
05:56 I can wear what I want.
05:59 I feel good.
05:59 I know I look good.
06:01 I feel amazing.
06:02 I feel great.
06:03 I feel liberated.
06:05 I just feel so happy and confident within myself.
06:09 I still want to be at a steady rate, how I am now.
06:12 I'm probably a bit smaller.
06:14 Of course, using a substantial amount of weight
06:16 in a short time frame, I am now left with loose skin.
06:20 So that's something that I'm working towards to get removed.
06:23 But someone told me two years ago
06:24 that this is how things will be for me now.
06:27 I'll say not at all.
06:28 If I didn't have confidence before,
06:30 I definitely for sure have confidence now.
06:32 Absolutely.
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