An obese nurse looks unrecognisable after dropping half her body weight thanks to her grueling gym workouts.
Vanessa Brennan, 36, from Las Vegas, has shed 194lbs (13st 8lbs) in 18 months and now visits the gym up to six times per week.
At her heaviest, she weighed 389lbs (27st 8lbs) but managed to get herself down to healthy 191lbs (13 stone 6lbs), and from a size 32 (UK size 28) to a size eight-ten (UK size 12-14), by cutting out processed food and her addiction to cakes.
But Vanessa decided to change her ways for good after realizing that she’d end up bed-bound like her patients if she carried on eating.
Now: Vanessa Brennan, 36, from Las Vegas, has shed 194lbs (13st 8lbs) in 18 months and now visits the gym up to six times per week. Pictured, the nurse today
Before: At her heaviest, Vanessa weighed 389lbs (27st 8lbs). The young woman said she used to be addicted to cakes and would eat several a day (pictured before the weight loss)
Vanessa now goes to the gym six times a week and enjoys a healthier diet. Picuted at the gym after the weight loss
She is now sharing her story to show others you can lose weight naturally.
Vanessa said: ‘Although I was 389lbs (27st 8lbs) I had a lot of confidence and I had to let people fall in love with my personality, so they didn’t judge me by my size.
‘I was addicted to food, I would eat when I was happy and eat when I was sad for comfort, it was a vicious cycle.
‘I was self-sabotaging; I would eat a cake or two and feel terrible for eating them so then have another two.
The young woman said she used to be caught in a vicious circle of eating: she would feel bad for eating, therefore would eat more to comfort herself (pictured: happy and healthy after the weight loss)
Vanessa (pictured after the weight loss) said her life has totally changed since shedding the weight
Vanessa said she was addicted to food. She tried to lose some of the weight but gained it back when she met her fiancé Muhammad Mughal, 34
‘As I got into my twenties, my friends recommended surgery, but I knew it wasn’t the right fix for me, it was the mental aspect that I needed help with.
‘Some people are addicted to drugs or alcohol, my addiction was food, but my problem is I need my addiction to live on.
‘No tool or surgery will ever fix my mind but myself which is why one day I decided to change my lifestyle.
‘I didn’t need a gastric sleeve, I needed myself and a good support system.
‘I started working out and eating healthy, I got down to 308lb (22 stone) and then I met my fiancé Muhammad Mughal, 34.
In 2014, Vanessa was able to go through with a tummy tuck and an arm reduction gained back the weight
Pictured: left, Vanessa wearing a poncho at her heaviest, right: Vanessa wearing the same poncho after her weight loss
‘We would go on dates to restaurants or have a cosy night in with a take away and I was getting heavier and heavier.
‘I stepped on the scales and promised myself I will never get to size 32 (UK size 28) again as I was doing so well and from that day forward my journey truly began.’
Vanessa has lost 194lbs (13st 8lbs) in the last 18 months by exercising and eating healthy meals without snacks.
From a size 32 (UK 28) to a size 8-10 (UK size 12-14). Vanessa is pictured with the same friend before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
Love birds: Vanessa with her fiancé Muhammad. The young woman said she was always confident about herself and would win people over thanks to her personality
She has since undergone a tummy tuck and an arm reduction in 2014.
She adds: ‘I knew the gym would be hard and changing my diet, but I never knew how hard it would be to mentally deal with the trauma my weight had caused me over the years.
‘Even after losing all the weight, my mind wasn’t able to adjust to my new body as I was so used to being the ‘fat funny girl with such a pretty face’.
‘Previously If I had a bad meal, I would start again on Monday but now if I have one, I jump straight back on it with a healthy meal for the next.
Vanessa, who lives in Las Vegas, said she was at risk of ending up bed-bound like her parents and vowed to changed her fate (pictured after the loss)
Vanessa added she was not off her anti-depressants for the first times since she was 16 years old
‘There is no more putting myself down or saying I ‘can’t do it’ because I know I can so I will continue to maintain a healthy weight.
‘I am now off anti-depressants for the first time since I was 16, working out is my new medication.
‘My whole entire life has changed, I can now tie my shoes with no problems and walk up a flight of stairs with no problems.
‘I have toned down since losing weight, I can be more relaxed and I don’t feel like I have to make everyone aware that I am in the room anymore.