19 stone crisp addict loses 7 stone after eating multipack everyday & now plans to wear a bikini on holiday

A crisp addict who gorged on a multipack per day has lost seven stone after gastric sleeve surgery - and is now splashing £12,000 to remove piles of loose skin. Melissa Jones, a snack enthusiast, saw her weight rocket after munching 24 packets of crisps a day, as well as eating fast food at least three times a week.

Unable to stick to diets or lose weight naturally, Melissa, then a size 24 and weighing 19 stone, decided enough was enough after not being able to fit in a pedalo seat on holiday with her young sons. And after returning home in October 2013, she started looking into getting surgical help to shift her weight.

Melissa, a carer, from Herefordshire, said: "I was a massive comfort eater- it’s always been my downfall. My go-to comfort food was crisps because of the crunch, I’d get one of those 24 multipacket and polish off the lot.

"I’d go on holiday with my two boys and I wouldn’t be able to fit in the peddle boats. It was embarrassing for me and them.”

Melissa visited her GP who suggested she applied for a gastric sleeve and she was put on an NHS list. After a three-year wait, in February 2016, Melissa’s surgery was confirmed and the GP told her that she’d have to lose at least two stone before the surgery to reduce the risk of medical complications.

Melissa embarked on a strict yoghurt-based diet and was able to shift the weight needed to carry out the operation. But although she underwent the surgery in 2016, which reduced the size of her stomach and caused her to lose six stone in just seven months - she saw her weight rocket to nearly 20 stone again following a ‘bad-break up’.

“To keep myself together for my boys, I just turned to takeaways for convenience and late-night snacking on crisps and chocolates. "It was definitely my lowest point," she recalls.

However, the single mum-of-two didn’t give up and in June 2020 underwent an NHS funded gastric bypass. A gastric bypass is when the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch thus restricting the amount of food that your stomach holds.

But Melissa, now a size 12 and 12st 6lbs, has been left with ‘’piles of sagging skin’’ and is currently awaiting a body lift at a private hospital to remove it. She is funding her third surgery, which costs over £12k, using her early inheritance from her family.

Melissa added: ‘’After the gastric sleeve I felt great but emotionally I was in a terrible place. I was comfort eating and my mobility was awful. But after having a gastric band, I’ve felt great.

‘’Now I just need this excess skin removed and I can really start my life afresh.’’

Melissa, who is mum to 15-year-old Macauley, and Morgan, 10, credits her rocky relationship around food with always feeling like the ‘’bigger friend’’ during her school years.

Since the surgery, Melissa has been able to lose a staggering 7st 3lbs through healthier eating choices and regular exercise.

The slender mum-of-two only eats one main meal a day, usually at lunch and then will opt for something light for dinner. She is currently awaiting her final procedure, a body lift, under private treatment that she hopes to have by summer of this year.

The treatment will remove excess skin from Melissa’s arms and stomach and she has taken early inheritance from her mum’s side of the family to fund it.

Melissa added:  "I still feel a bit gross because of my loose skin and I like to wear a long top that covers my stomach and bum.  I’m really looking forward to getting my body lift- it will be the final flourish in my weight loss journey.

"I’m hoping to have it done before our family holiday to Trecco Bay in Wales, in June. I’ve told my boys that if all goes to plan, I’ll be wearing a bikini. Now I’ll be able to embarrass my kids on holiday for a very different reason.”