A £10K-a-year takeaway addict so huge she wouldn’t let her boyfriend see her naked has shed nine stone to prove to doctors that she didn’t need a gastric band.
Katie Dolan, 26, of Penzance, Cornwall, ballooned to 23 stone after unhappiness with her career at a supermarket saw her turn comfort food, bingeing on up to three takeaways a day – and almost 8,000 calories.
Katie, who was a size 24 at her biggest, let her bulging waistline get so out of hand that her doctor advised she undergo weight loss surgery as she was at risk of developing diabetes and heart problems.
Determined to prove she could lose weight on her own, Katie swapped scoffing on curries, chocolate and crisps for healthy home-cooked meals and exercise.
But one month and one stone into her weight loss journey, Katie was involved in a head-on crash and had to be airlifted to hospital with a broken hip.
Despite undergoing two gruelling operations and piling on the pounds as she was bedbound for six weeks, Katie came back fighting and went on to lose 9st 2lbs and drop six dress sizes in a year.
Katie’s incredible transformation has given her the confidence to quit her job, flaunt her svelte new figure in glamorous selfies and reignite the flame with her boyfriend Gary Ballard, 27.
Doctors advised Katie to have a gastric band, but she was determined to lose the weight by herself
Katie, (left) who was a size 24 at her biggest, put on three stone while trying to lose weight for her sister’s wedding
Unhappiness with her job at a supermarket led to Katie bingeing on up to three takeaways a day (left). Since losing weight she’s gained confidence and is going to return to her studies
Katie Dolan, 26, of Penzance, Cornwall who shed nine stone after ditching her 8,000 calorie a day diet and found the confidence to show off her body
Katie said: ‘I had always been big and struggled with my weight but then there were two years where I got really depressed about my career. I had spent my life playing it safe in the same job.
‘I was just getting bigger and bigger. My eating was completely out of control. I remember deciding I was going to lose weight for my sister’s wedding but instead I went the other way and gained 3st. I had to have my bridesmaid dress specially made. It was humiliating.
‘I had a really unhealthy relationship with food. I was so unhappy and stressed and food was the only thing that made me feel good.
‘But the bigger I got, the more my confidence suffered. I was so self-conscious all the time and I started to develop pretty serious anxiety. I just wanted to hide myself away.
Prior to her weight loss, Katie would refuse to let her boyfriend Gary naked
‘Gary was always so supportive and he never cared about my weight but I just couldn’t understand why he would love me or what he could possibly see in me.
‘It put a real strain on our relationship and meant I couldn’t trust him because of my own insecurities.
‘I never ever got undressed in front of him and when it came to being intimate the lights would have to be off and I would keep most my clothes on. It created a real barrier between us.
‘Then one day I went to the doctor to ask about losing weight and he told me I should get a gastric band. I was really shocked. I couldn’t believe I was only 25 and I had let myself get so big I could need surgery.
‘I told the doctor then and there that I was determined to prove I could do it myself. It was a real turning point for me. I completely changed the way I was living my life.
‘The change has been incredible. I think I have shocked everyone. Nobody, including me, thought I would really be able to do it. I’ve got so much more energy and I am so confident now.
The slimmer has managed to shed 9st 2lbs and drop six dress sizes in a year after refusing weight loss surgery
‘Being so much happier has given me the confidence to quit my job and I’m going back to school. I even wore a bikini for the first time ever on holiday in Tenerife this year.
‘And my relationship with Gary is so much better. He is amazing. He has been by my side every step of the way supporting me.
‘Before I was too lazy to do anything but now, we go out all the time. We are so much closer than we have ever been. I trust him completely and we can be a lot more intimate. It is amazing.’
Instead of opting for weight loss surgery, Katie joined Slimming World in February 2016 and quickly got into the swing of eating healthy and exercising.
Instead of opting for weight loss surgery, Katie joined Slimming World in February 2016 and quickly got into the swing of eating healthy and exercising
Katie posing proudly with Slimming World’s Woman of the Year award after losing more than nine stone
But on March 14 Katie was in the car with her friend on the way to the gym when the pair were involved in a head-on collision.
Katie was airlifted to hospital where she would spend the next six weeks as she underwent two major surgeries to repair her hip.
So much time in a hospital bed saw the soon-to-be student pile on the pounds but rather than let it get her down, Katie got straight back on plan as soon as she was fully mobile again in August 2016.
Katie’s newfound confidence hasn’t just improved her love life but at a size 12 she can now wear whatever clothes she wants to and she was crowned Slimming World’s Woman of the Year last month.
Katie in 2015 before she embarked on her weight loss journey (left). In hospital in 2016 after suffering a broken hip in a car crash (right)
Although Gary was always supportive and reassuring, Katie would not let him see her naked
Katie said: ‘Before joining Slimming World, I was too lazy to exercise and I never cooked. Gary and I would eat takeaway curries, Chinese or pizzas every single night.
‘I was a proper secret eater and some days I would have three takeaways a day. At work I was constantly snacking on biscuits and chocolate and crisps. I was spending a fortune on food.
‘I always put off losing weight because I thought it would be expensive but I have saved so much money.
‘I learnt how to make all these home-cooked meals and I was just really getting into the swing of it when we had the crash. It was a huge setback.
Before joining Slimming World, Katie wouldn’t exercise and ate takeaway curries, Chinese or pizzas every single night
The fast food addict thought it would be costly to go on a diet, but she was spending £10,000 a year on takeaways
‘I went back to work in August and I put on my work shirt, which had been baggy before going into hospital, but now it was tight. I wasn’t having it. I got straight back on plan.
‘I can’t imagine eating like I used to now. My life is so much better. My anxiety is gone, I’m not self-conscious when I’m out, I can wear whatever I want to. I feel amazing.
‘I eat so many vegetables which I never would have done before. And the best thing about it is I can still have a chocolate or a biscuit. It is all about moderation.’
Fast food addict Katie would always start her day with several breakfast items from McDonald’s
South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that they attended a two-vehicle collision on Poniou Way in Penzance, Cornwall, on March 14, 2016.
A SWASFT spokeswoman said: ‘On the 14 March 2016 we received a call at 1:40pm to report a road traffic collision on Poniou Way, Long Rock, Penzance.
‘It was reported as a two-vehicle road traffic collision. There were three patients. One patient had a possible hip injury.
‘We dispatched two rapid response vehicles, two double-crewed ambulances, an operation officer and the air ambulance.
‘There was one patient taken by air ambulance to Treliske Hospital.’