A mother-of-one has revealed how a secret eating habit led to her tipping the scales at 120 kilograms by the time she was 24.
Kara Dunstan, 25, from Brisbane, who has since shed a staggering 50 kilograms, had been overweight as a child and said the problem only got worse in her teens.
‘I had weight problems my whole life,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I was bullied and teased and by the time I was 15 I was binging then purging on food.’
She said her lowest point came when she was 22 and weighed 120kg; her right knee was collapsing due to excess weight and she was struggling to care for her then two-year-old child.
A mother-of-one has revealed how a secret eating habit led to her tipping the scales at 120 kilograms by the time she was 24
Kara Dunstan (pictured before her weight loss left and after right) has revealed how she once tipped the scales at 120 kilograms
Ms Dunstan (pictured) following her dramatic 50 kilogram weight loss
Ms Dunstan overhauled her health via a combination of gastric sleeve surgery, a healthy diet and a rigorous workout program.
‘I was so miserable and depressed,’ she said of her life prior to having surgery.
‘I couldn’t work and when I tried to work I would get 10 or 15 minutes into an activity and I would want to sit down because I was so puffed.’
She said she had tried numerous diets previously and had some success – at times losing as much as 30kg – but nothing had stuck long term.
After the birth of her son in 2015, the new mum said her weight became more difficult to shift.
And she revealed her binging had started to get worse.
The mother-of-one (pictured before left and right after) shared how she had weight problems stemming from childhood
Ms Dunstan said at her lowest, it wasn’t uncommon for her to spend as much as $100 a day on takeaway foods – something she described as ‘mortifying’.
Recounting one particularly harrowing binge, she shared how her day started with a bacon and egg McMuffin from McDonalds with extra bacon and extra cheese plus a large Coke.
This was followed by half a chicken and a chicken roll from Red Rooster for lunch with another coke.
Dinner that day also comprised of a favoured binge food: Pizza.
‘I always used my personal account so my husband wouldn’t know I was spending money,’ she said.
‘The worst thing was feeling sick – I felt sick from eating all that cr*p but then I felt bad so I ate more. It was just such a vicious cycle to get out of.’
Although Ms Dunstan (pictured before left and right after) said she tried diet and exercise to lose weight previously she wasn’t able to keep the weight off
She said it took finding the courage to tell her husband she could ‘no longer’ go on with the way things were for her to take her first life-changing steps toward health.
Although the family investigated the option of publicly funded gastric sleeve surgery, long waiting lists meant this wasn’t viable.
Instead, a decision was made to pay for the procedure privately using funds from her husband’s superannuation.
Ms Dunstan (pictured) overhauled her health via a combination of gastric sleeve surgery, a healthy diet and a rigorous workout program
At the start of 2017, Ms Dunstan underwent a gastric sleeve procedure and within six months lost a staggering 40kg.
Taking up an exercise program comprised of a mix of cardio and weight training helped her lose a further 10kg six months later.
Although she has some excess skin from her rapid weight loss on her arms and thighs, she said she is lucky because her tattoos cover most of this.
However, further surgery is planned at some stage to remove loose skin from her stomach.
Quick weight loss has resulted in excess loose skin something that’s a particular problem around Ms Dunstan’s (pictured left, top and bottom right) stomach area
Incredibly, Ms Dunstan’s new lease on life has also seen her forge a more meaningful careeer, one that’s focused on helping others like herself who have struggled with weight.
As well as blogging about her journey to thousands, there is also a newly-minted certificate hanging in her home – declaring her a personal trainer.
‘People relate to me because I have been a big person and now I’m not,’ she said.
‘So my mission now is to make sure no-one else ever feels alone when they are trying to lose weight because for me it was just so lonely.’
‘Now I can be a proper mum and a proper partner, I have my own business and I can give to charity,’ she said
And lastly, Ms Dunstan offered these words of support to anyone who may need encouragement:
‘My health is always number one,’ she said. ‘And the self-worth you get once you are looking after yourself is incredible.’
‘Now I can be a proper mum and a proper partner, I have my own business and I can give to charity.
‘It’s really good to be able to help other people again,’ she concluded.
To find about more about Kara Dunstan’s fitness program, please click here