Gemma was 218 lbs at her heaviest and so unhappy with her weight she couldn’t bear for her husband to even look at her. The 31-year-old’s confidence plummeted after being diagnosed with stage three melanoma from a mole on her face. The mole was removed, but the steroid cream used to treat scarring caused her to gain weight. “I got myself into a bad relationship with food. I would binge eat, then force myself to be sick. Then I would starve myself. It was a vicious cycle.”
“I was miserable and I hit rock bottom. I avoided any pictures of myself, my marriage broke down, I couldn’t look at myself and I didn’t want my husband to look at me.” Gemma confesses her husband loved her regardless of her size. However, her own unhappiness with herself caused their relationship to fail. “I’m a firm believer in that it doesn’t matter what size you are as long as you’re happy, and I was so far from being happy.”
Gemma decided to separate from her husband after 12 years of marriage because she knew she was destroying her health and needed to make a drastic change for her own happiness. She decided to undergo Gastric Sleeve Surgery to help her lose the weight.
Within eight months of surgery, Gemma had reached her goal weight of 140 lbs, losing over 70 lbs. She has continued to lose weight and is now a comfortable 134 lbs. “Although, I wasn’t doing it for the number on the scales. I just wanted to feel good and comfortable in clothes.” She explained.
After separating for one year from her husband, Gemma was able to get her life back to get together and rekindle her marriage. “”I had a year to focus on myself and get myself sorted and now we are back together and happier than ever. “My husband loved me unconditionally, however I was in such a bad place because of how my weight was making me feel. It was a major factor in me having a breakdown and playing a role in the breakdown of our marriage. “I am so happy that we are back together again.”
Gemma is now thrilled with her new body and reclaimed life. “I now have the confidence to go into a shop and buy something off of the hanger. I can wear clothes that I never would have dreamed of fitting into. I’m so happy with my new body. The difference in myself is amazing.
