Sarah Parker, 36, tipped the scales at 175kg when she decided to bite the bullet and try Ozempic for weight loss.
Two months later, however, the bubbly mum from Victoria was a shell of her former self. Her chirpy demeanor was replaced with suicidal thoughts and feelings of despair.
She told FEMAIL she was terrified the feeling of worthlessness would take over and she would give up fighting for her life.
‘I honestly felt that everyone would be better off without me,’ she cried.
‘I felt helpless and alone and like no one understood me. I haven’t had thoughts like that since I was a teenager and it scared the heck out of me.’
Her 12-year-old son kept her anchored – she knew in her heart he would not be better off without his mum. Her husband stood by her and let her know he would support her forever.
‘So I went to the doctor, I told them about the thoughts I was having. I knew something wasn’t right because I was in a good place. I have good support and good friends. Life was so good at that moment,’ she said.
Alarmed, doctors took her off the medication, which is used for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes, immediately.
Sarah Parker tipped the scales at 175kg when she decided to bite the bullet and try weight loss ‘wonder drug’ Ozempic
She went on to lose 100kg without medication
‘It took the edge off quickly, but I still didn’t feel like myself for another two months,’ she said.
The mum believes Ozempic must have triggered her PTSD and trauma around food.
‘When I was a child there were times I wouldn’t eat for two or three days at a time because there wasn’t enough food,’ she said.
‘That fear has followed me into adulthood. I would eat too much because subconsciously I believed I had to have as much as possible in case we ran out of food.’
In fact the mum-of-one, who went on to lose 100kg ‘the old fashioned way’ said she would ‘easily eat a loaf of bread a day’ when she was at her worst.
‘It actually disgusts me when I think about how much I used to eat,’ she said.
The mum would wake up in the morning and have a large bowl of cereal with a sugary coffee and two slices of toast slathered in strawberry jam or peanut butter.
Before dropping her son off at school she would have had two more coffees and a cigarette.
Mid-morning she might have some lollies, chips or more toast.
‘White toast was it for me. My favourite treat,’ she said.
For lunch she would have two toasties, using white bread and butter, loaded with salami, baked beans and cheese.
‘I didn’t drink water. During the day I would have at least two energy drinks and Coke or other soft drink. I don’t even like soft drink so don’t know why I was drinking it.’
She would continue to snack on toast, chips and sweets until dinner.
‘We would have a healthy dinner. But I would have a huge plate full and often went back for seconds. Then I would have dessert later and maybe some toast before bed,’ she said.
Sarah, who was a size 30 at her biggest, realised she had gained too much weight when daily tasks became a nightmare.
The mum is now unrecognisable and is keen to become a physiotherapist to help others
‘I couldn’t even tie my shoelaces because my tummy was in the way,’ she said.
‘I remember thinking this isn’t good, this isn’t normal.’
She also got breathless having a shower or getting out of bed.
‘I cried when I saw 175kg flash up on the scales at the doctor’s surgery. I thought I was like 130kg so it was a huge shock. Thankfully I didn’t have anything like diabetes,’ she said.
Sarah lost about six kilos during her terrifying Ozempic stint, but put four back on when she ditched the drug.
‘They putt me on the waiting list for weight loss surgery. But my friend got very sick when she had it – so I was scared. I decided to give it one more shot on my own.’
She ordered Lite n’ Easy and started on the 1200 calorie meal plan before switching to the 1500 calorie option.
‘I was too hungry on 1200. I remember when I first saw the portion sizes I was scared I would starve,’ she said.
‘It made me realise how much I had been overeating every day.’
Sarah still gets some bread with her meals, something she is grateful for as she would have struggled to cut it out completely.
‘But I don’t have sugar in my coffee anymore and I don’t drink soft drinks or energy drinks anymore,’ she said.
Sarah started her exercise regime by signing up to netball and going for short walks.
She slowly built up to 5km walks on her own then decided to join the gym after shedding 30kg. She ‘clicked’ with a personal trainer there who told her diet and exercise would only be half her battle.
‘He told me I had to fix the source of my trauma to really break free of my bad habits,’ she said.
So she went to counselling, and embarked on a healing journey which helped her identify moments in her traumatic past which were impacting her daily life.
She has kept her strength, working on it with her trainer, but can’t believe she used to carry another 100kg around every day
Then the weight really started falling off.
‘I can’t believe I lost 100kg in a year. I didn’t even know that was possible,’ she said.
She now goes for 15km runs most days and heads to the gym four times a week.
‘I want to go to uni and become a physio. I always wanted to but I didn’t think I could because I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously in that space.
‘No one wants health advice from someone who isn’t healthy.’
Sarah is on the waiting list for skin reduction surgery, which she is excited for.
‘I don’t have as much loose skin as I thought I would. And it doesn’t bother me too much but I will be happy once it is gone,’ she said.
She has been sitting on 75kg for a few months but hopes to dip below 70kg once her transformation is complete.
‘I think I will be on Lite n’ Easy forever. I am too scared to come off it. It is a great safety net for me,’ she said.
‘I know that I can go out for dinner, have a nice night with my husband and friends and then get back to routine with my pre-made meals the next day.’
She is now shocked by the size of meals.
‘I don’t know how people finish them, or how I used to. Now I never finish it – my husband usually ends up picking at my plate once I am done,’ she said.
Sarah said she put off losing weight for years after ‘nothing really worked’ but wants others doing the same thing to ‘stick with it’.
‘If I can lose that weight then anyone can. Nothing worked for me for years and then I just figured I was a big girl. I am only 36, I have a long life ahead of me but now I get to do it healthy,’ she said.
Sarah struggled with weight after leaving school and says she had been very overweight for at least a decade.
She still ‘finds herself looking in the plus sized section’ out of habit and is shocked when she can ‘grab anything’ from the shelf.
And her son is ‘loving it’.
‘He gets me to go out and kick the ball with him all the time. He has never had a mum who can run around with him, so it is great,’ she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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