Bride, 33, loses 95 kilos in ONE year after vowing to get in shape for her wedding day

A bride who wanted to surprise her family with a dramatic weight loss transformation at her wedding has gone on to lose almost 100 kilos in one year.

Joanna Colefax, who is based in Maitland, New South Wales, was preparing to walk down the aisle towards her husband Glenn Matzon when she received shocking blood test results.

‘I got my bloods taken and the doctors said I was prediabetic and likely wouldn’t live another five or ten years,’ the 33-year-old nurse told FEMAIL.

A bride who wanted to surprise her family with a dramatic weight loss transformation at her wedding has gone on to lose almost 100 kilos in one year

‘I didn’t want to be sick. No way. And I had already been trying to lose weight for the wedding but now it was more important.’

The mother-of-one had ‘been big since she was born’, arriving into the world at 12 pounds, and maintained a solid build all throughout primary school.

‘I was still active and able to play sport but I signed up to Weight Watchers and lost 30 kilos before my Year 10 formal,’ she said.   

‘After the formal I kept the weight off until I had my son at 19, and then became a nurse and started doing shift work as a single mother.’

The mother-of-one had ‘been big since she was born’, arriving into the world at 12 pounds, and maintained a solid build all throughout primary school (Pictured in March 2018)

‘It was my surgeon that actually nominated me for Channel Nine’s This Time Next Year show,’ she said (pictured in March 2019)

The pressure of work and raising her son meant food became a comfort for Joanna and slowly her weight ballooned on the scales.

At her heaviest Joanna was 170 kilos and began researching gastric sleeve surgery, particularly after her horror blood tests.

‘It was my surgeon that actually nominated me for Channel Nine’s This Time Next Year show,’ she said.  

On the show Joanna promised host Karl Stefanovic that she would lose 50 kilos before her wedding in October 2018.

So in March of that year she underwent surgery, started exercising five times a week and eating much smaller portions. 

At her heaviest Joanna was 170 kilos and began researching gastric sleeve surgery, particularly after her horror blood tests

Incredibly, she was 55 kilos lighter when she walked down the aisle – taking her entire family by surprise.

‘The wedding was in Fiji… I even took a picture when I got on the plane because I didn’t need a seat belt extender,’ she said.

‘I wore the same wedding dress I’d picked out months prior, altered of course, and our 60 guests were astonished.

‘It was a very emotional day.’

The road certainly hasn’t been easy for Joanna, who was rocked by how difficult the surgery was to recover from

‘Most people say [getting surgery] is the cheat’s way. But I’d tell them to walk the last 18 months in my shoes,’ she said

The road certainly hasn’t been easy for Joanna, who was rocked by how difficult the surgery was to recover from.

‘Most people say [getting surgery] is the cheat’s way. But I’d tell them to walk the last 18 months in my shoes,’ she said. 

‘There are days I can’t eat or tolerate food, I have been admitted to hospital for dehydration and there is constant vomiting.’  

After appearing on the show again to update fans in March 2019 Joanna has gone on to lose another 40 kilos.

And while she’s grateful for how healthy she’s feeling day-to-day if you asked her to go through with the surgery again, she’d say no. 

‘I’ve got mixed emotions. I’ve got energy, I’m fit, I love going to the gym each day, I’m not exhausted at the end of each day, not short of energy and there are so many things I want to do in the near future,’ she said.

‘But if you asked me if I’d do it again, I’d say no. It has saved my life, it has given me life. It has also been a very difficult journey.’