A student has showed off her incredible body transformation after ditching her fast food habit to qualify for a breast reduction surgery she was too unhealthy for.
Admin worker Ashlee Higham, 23, who is originally from the UK but now lives in Melbourne, never considered herself to be overweight until she saw photos of herself after a trip back home in June 2017.
She’d just moved to a desk job where she was sitting for up to seven hours a day from previously working as a drive thru bottle shop attendant and hadn’t noticed the weight creeping on.
A student has showed off her incredible body transformation after ditching her fast food habit to qualify for a breast reduction surgery she was too unhealthy for (left before and right after)
Admin worker Ashlee Higham, 23, who is originally from the UK but now lives in Melbourne, never considered herself to be overweight until she saw photos of herself after a trip
She was also eating McDonald’s or KFC at least four times a week, loved eating any kind of deep-fried food and spent her weekends drinking and eating out with no physical exercise to counteract her sedentary lifestyle.
‘I avoided any kind of physical activity and refused to eat fruits and veggies but I had never really thought of myself as big until I looked at those photos,’ Ashlee said.
‘I was embarrassed and for the first time I was beginning to notice stretch marks on my stomach which encouraged me to start making a change.
‘I had incredibly low self-confidence. I couldn’t wear anything that I wanted to, and always grabbed clothing in the largest size I could possibly get, purely to hide my body shape.’
She was eating McDonald’s or KFC at least four times a week, loved eating any kind of deep-fried food and spent her weekends drinking and eating out with no physical exercise
Ashlee’s decision to make a lifestyle change came when at 21, she was told she too overweight to qualify for a breast reduction because her body mass index was too high.
She had wanted the breast reduction since she was 14 due to the severe back pain her K cup breasts caused her.
‘After being told I did not qualify for a breast reduction on the public wait list, I became determined to make sure I was below that threshold,’ Ashlee said.
Determined to lose weight so that she could have her reduction surgery, Ashlee started going to the gym five times a week and ditched her junk food habits in favour of healthy chicken with vegetables.
‘After being told I did not qualify for a breast reduction on the public wait list, I became determined to make sure I was below that threshold,’ Ashlee (pictured now) said
‘Being given such a strict deadline and weight that I needed to get to was incredibly motivating. Knowing I was the only person stopping myself from getting it was what made me keep going,’ she said.
‘I started going to the gym five times a week.
‘In the beginning I just sat on the bike or the elliptical for around half an hour, or occasionally threw in a few machines. A few months into my journey, I took part in an eight-week challenge at my gym which provided me with strength workouts each day.’
Ashlee then developed a love for training and started researching workouts and training splits, watching YouTube videos and designing her own training programs.
Ashlee reached her goal weight and in September, 2018, went under the knife to become a C cup (before and after her operation)
Ashlee reached her goal weight and in September, 2018, went under the knife to become a C cup.
Now a size six to eight instead of a size 16, she is working towards running her first half marathon.
‘Before, I was someone who ate insane amounts of junk and avoided any kind of physical activity. Now, I am someone who still enjoys the occasional junk food, but also values the nutritional and functional properties which food provides me with,’ she said.
Ashlee now goes to the gym between six and seven times a week working on both strength and cardio, which is something she found a struggle at the start of her journey.
Now a size six to eight instead of a size 16, she is working towards running her first half marathon
‘Rather than going all in, implement small changes and gradually adjust your lifestyle to where you would like it to be,’ she said
‘I have a lot more confidence in myself and am still in shock at how much my body and mental state has changed,’ she said.
‘It took a long time to make exercising part of my routine, and to get to the stage where I am excited to go to the gym, but it has been so worth it.
‘Start small. Add in a twenty-minute walk or stop eating your daily muffin. The smallest of changes can make such a huge difference in the beginning.
‘Rather than going all in, implement small changes and gradually adjust your lifestyle to where you would like it to be.’