Single mum who suffers from lipoedema and endometriosis is determined to lose weight

At 220kg single mum-of-three Finau Suliana Tua struggled with day-to-day tasks before she reached breaking point four years ago.

The then 26-year-old from Brisbane burst into tears after struggling to wipe her bottom and felt humiliated when her partner at the time offered to help. 

‘You shouldn’t need to,’ she told him while sobbing. 

Finau, now 30, told FEMAIL she was eating junk food and takeaway daily, leading to her excessive weight and difficulty completing everyday jobs. She couldn’t touch her toes or walk down the beach on soft sand with her three sons. 

‘When you’re overweight, it’s a vicious cycle,’ she said.

‘I struggled with my mental health and wanted to eat healthy but took the easy option and ate takeaway.’ 

Finau made the decision to turn her life around and had gastric sleeve surgery – a medical procedure that removed a portion of her stomach – in March 2018.

The excessive weight has restricted Finau from even touching her toes or walking down the beach on soft sand with her three sons 

Three months later she moved to New Zealand with her partner and joined a gym, dropping down to 150kg. But after a year her mental health start to go downhill and she returned to Australia to be closer to her family.

‘I managed to lose 70kg by myself but fell back off the bandwagon, and then Covid happened,’ Finau said.

With millions of people forced into lockdown and gyms closing their doors, Finau said she ‘packed on the weight’ and her old bad habits started to return. 

‘I managed to lose 70kg and my lowest bodyweight was about 150kg. When Covid hit it gave her time to self-reflect and understand how you “can’t train a bad diet”,’ she said 

‘Once I hit 150kg, I plateaued and hit a wall. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t lose any more,’ she said. 

‘During Covid it really gave me time to self-reflect and it opened my eyes to how you can’t train a bad diet.

‘People also don’t realise that gastric sleeve isn’t just a “quick fix” – you need to work on your mindset too because it’s such a powerful tool.’

Finau continued to exercise daily but suffered from menstrual cramps that would leave her in agony. At one point the pain was so bad she went to hospital. 

Finau explained that losing weight isn’t just about putting in the hours at the gym, you also need to train your mindset to think different about nutrition

At the end of 2020 Finau found out her severe pain was caused by endometriosis – a disorder in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterine cavity. Doctors also found a 3-4cm mass in her abdominal wall.

A few months later in May 2021 she had surgery to remove the cyst, which had grown to 10cm. She spoke with her doctors to discuss the next steps and potential treatment. 

‘The doctor sat me down and asked me if I knew about lipoedema – and I had because people on social media would often ask if I had this condition,’ she said, adding how she took his advice to speak to a specialist.

At the end of 2020 Finau was diagnosed with endometriosis – a disorder in which tissue similar to the lining of your uterus grows outside the uterine cavity – that was causing severe pain and doctors found a 3-4cm mass in her abdominal wall

And in mid-2021, an ultrasound confirmed the doctor’s suspicions and Finau was diagnosed with stage four lipoedema – a condition involving abnormal fat deposits mostly occurring in your legs and arms

In mid-2021, an ultrasound confirmed the doctor’s suspicions and Finau was diagnosed with stage four lipoedema – a condition involving abnormal fat deposits mostly occurring in the legs and arms.

‘I cried but I wasn’t completely shocked, it was more so validation from a doctor that I needed to hear,’ she said.

‘For years I beat myself up about my weight and thought I was lazy, but now I finally understood why it was so difficult for me to lose weight.

‘If you were to look at me from the shoulders up, you wouldn’t expect me to be an obese person. And my waist is so tiny it’s out of proportion to my legs.’

As she’s over 100kg doctors won’t operate on her endometriosis and surgery for her lipoedema will cost upwards of $75,000 as isn’t not covered by Medicare. Finau is now on a mission to help spread awareness for both medical conditions by sharing daily vlogs and videos on social media

Unfortunately, there’s no cure for lipoedema and the only option is to have surgery – but it costs upwards of $75,000 and isn’t covered by Medicare.

Because Finau weighs more than 100kg, surgeons also won’t operate to treat her endometriosis. Today she copes with the pain of both medical conditions and exercises as much as she can.

And while it’s not impossible to lose weight, it’s certainly more difficult.

Finau is now on a mission to help spread awareness for both medical conditions by sharing daily vlogs and videos on social media.

‘I’m in a bit of a rough spot right now, but I’m still the most confident I’ve ever been – I think it’s so important to love yourself even when you’re at your lowest point,’ she said.

‘You need to accept yourself, and understand the past doesn’t define you.’