Weighing in at a staggering 199kg, Dunedin mother Sharon McBain’s life was in serious danger, and shedding the kilos was not going to be an easy task.
With high blood pressure and the threat of diabetes looming, Sharon knew if she didn’t make drastic life changes, she would soon be out of time. So, after years of trying to shed the weight on her own, Sharon (50) opted to have gastric bypass surgery as a final and desperate resort. Three years since the operation, she has shed an amazing 100kg – and the weight loss has changed her life forever.
“If I hadn’t had the surgery I would certainly have been six feet under within months,” Sharon begins. “I was a yo-yo dieter. I tried everything. You name it, I did it. I would lose the weight, then I would put it on – with interest! Surgery was the final choice. I wanted to survive. I wanted to love my life again.”
Sharon believes she had an addiction to food, one that began when she was very young.
“I grew up in a household being taught you should never leave the table without finishing off everything on your plate. That mentality never left me.”
Sharon grew into an obese young woman, tipping the scales just shy of 200kg. She was so large she had to import clothes from overseas, including double-K cup bras at a cost of $165 each.
Her weight turned her into a hermit. She would stay at home, rarely venturing out into the world.
“I would lock myself in my home, not because I was scared of what people thought of me, but because it was difficult for me to move around. I felt more comfortable staring at my four walls.”
But after a cancer scare five years ago, Sharon – who has a 21-year-old daughter – realised how much she wanted to live.
Sharon McBain at 199kg.
“I looked in the mirror and knew I had to do something with my life. If I could survive cancer, I could survive anything,” she says.
Having surgery seemed the only option, but before she went under the knife, Sharon needed to deal with the emotional reasons for her battle with obesity – and put paid to her food addiction once and for all.
“I went to counselling before the operation to find out all the reasons I used food for comfort. I sat down and wrote my story out. I began to understand why food had provided me with love and security,” Sharon explains.
“I figured out I had low self-esteem – that I didn’t love myself. I had to teach myself that I was worthy of living because it would have been a waste of time having the operation if I hadn’t dealt with the core reasons for my weight.”
Sharon finally felt mentally prepared to have the gruelling surgery, during which the stomach is taken out and a small pouch is made from the intestines, thereby limiting how much the patient can eat.
Sharon McBain after surgery.
“I didn’t know if I would come out on my own two feet or in a body bag,” recalls Sharon. “But the surgery went really well.”
Sharon began dropping the kilos immediately, and slowly started to build her confidence.
“I had weighed 199kg for so long, and suddenly I was getting smaller. I do have my weaknesses and sometimes I’d crave chocolate and cake. But eating very small portions meant I didn’t go overboard.
“The biggest adjustment for me, though, is the realisation that I am beautiful,” Sharon reveals. “I’d never thought of myself that way before. The other day, when I was shopping for clothes, the shop assistant told me I had a beautiful pear-shaped body and a lovely booty that I should show off. That really lifted my spirits.”
Sharon says she is now sharing her story to support others who are finding it hard to lose weight.
“I want to pay it forward. I’ve been given this magnificent opportunity to change my life. I want to help others to do the same.”
