Transformation Update: 12th April 2023

This week, we celebrate the successful weight loss of Kellie Brackenbury. Here’s her story:

Why did you want to have your procedure?

Got to my heaviest weight of 168.6kg in March 2020 during covid lockdown 

A friend who was my same age 40 passed away. 

Everything hurt. 

No quality of life. 

Unable to walk to even the mailbox 

How were you feeling in your “THEN” photos?

Depressed, overwhelmed, hopeless, ashamed 

How are you feeling NOW?

I wish I had done it earlier 

New lease on life 

More energy than ever before 

Focused 

Driven 

What has been your most memorable Non-Scale Victory?

I bought size 11 jeans from Jeans West after being in a 28 

What was your experience like with the WLSA team?

Amazing 

Always supportive 

Approachable 

Encouraging 

Is there anything else you’d like to include in your Story?

Do it 

Learn as you grow 

It’s not easy or a quick fix 

It’s a tool for your success 

“If you fail to plan then you plan to fail”

#WeightLossWarrior, 
Kellie Brackenbury

Message from WLSA:
Dear Kelly, we know it takes great courage for you to share your story. It’s straightforward yet powerful. We are all very proud of your weight loss journey, from size 28 to 11, it’s a phenomenal achievement! We are honoured that you have chosen us as your weight loss family to start this path of reclaiming your life. You are an inspiration!

Felicity Cohen
CEO of WLSA

Find out which bariatric procedure(s) can help you lose weight effectively. Start a confidential conversation with us on Messenger now

*Disclaimer: Results may vary for each person

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This week, we celebrate the successful weight loss of Kellie Brackenbury. Here’s her story:

The last 12 months has been interesting to say the least. In Early May during the Covid Lockdown, I lost a close friend who was a bigger girl and she was my same age. This really hit home and I started to look at my life in a totally different way.

I didn’t handle the lockdown very well and the pantry/fridge once again became my best friend to try to get me through this very stressful & highly emotional part of my life. One morning I stepped onto the scales and was horrified to see 168.6Kg.

This frightened me so much. It was the heaviest I had ever been in my life. I had tried every Fad diet there is around. I tried starving myself, drops under my tongue, Keto, etc each with small success but I would then return to old habits and soon saw the scale return to the previous figure if not more. I had previously spoken to my vascular surgeon who said “if you were my sister I wouldn’t recommend it as you don’t need it”, well I’m not and I was asking for help I wasn’t at my heaviest at that time either. Another Dr said I would never lose weight and would never return to full-time work, I am now working 2 jobs. I went to my local Dr whom I had spoken to about this previously and he had patients who had great success so I looked into it again. I had friends who had it and must have considered it 3 times before deciding it was for me. I used my super to pay for the surgery as my Dr had said to me “If you don’t you may not be around to use your super”. So I contacted WLSA by phone whilst we were in lockdown to get the ball rolling.
 
I am a mother of two (19,20) and I had been in a long-term relationship/marriage for 22 years. My husband always did everything he could to sabotage my weight loss success and I am one who always puts myself last. Once contacting WLSA and arranging the phone appointments I knew somehow that this time was going to be different. The day the phone rang for my first appointment with the Nurse I almost didn’t answer the phone like I had done so in the past. Other issues such as Factor V which is a blood clotting condition were always in the back of my mind and I hoped that I would make it through and live happy & healthy. I had all my appointments that day and Dr. Adib gave me the Surgery date of 16/07/2020. This was 10 weeks away and I knew I had to get things sorted and that I wasn’t going to back out this time.

I applied for my super and started to research what I needed to take to the hospital, and what I required after I got out and started to take more notice of what went in my mouth. I was one of the members who chose to tell everyone about my surgery. Don’t get me wrong I totally understand the position some people are in and choose to not tell anyone but I wanted to hold myself accountable and also to help others who were struggling with their weight to see what I had done to get to where I am now. I had a couple of people say it’s the easy way out but then I lay them out a day’s worth of prepped food and they soon wake up.
 
The weeks quickly passed by, the bag started to fill up, and my box of necessities post-op began to fill. 2 weeks out from surgery I began my Shakes & restricted diet. Previously I had used shakes but I had fallen sick with headaches and fallen straight off the wagon. This time I took on some tips about adding ice and fruits such as Strawberries or Bananas to remove the powdery taste I had so struggled with in the past. I love salads and vegetables so that was easy for me but the thing that surprised me most was the change in my family dynamic. I removed myself from the kitchen for all the other meals. I fed myself and left everyone else to find for themselves. My kids aren’t young and I had great respect for anyone who does this with small children because you really have to focus on yourself and make your meals a top priority. Within this period there were a few arguments because mum had always done everything and now they needed to do more for themselves. But instead of eating good foods as they knew I was dieting, they ate takeaway almost every meal. I never cheated, I was so focused on getting rid of this extra person I had been carrying around that no one was going to stop me.
 
As I re-packed my bag and made sure we (my husband & I) had enough for our week away in Brisbane I began to get a little scared. But then I started to think each day I don’t do this my heart is under enormous pressure and I could have the surgery and succeed, have a heart attack now, or not make it off the operating table. There was only one position outlook and that was that I was going to make it out the other side and that no one was going to stop me. So that’s what I did. I got dropped at the hospital at 6.00 am, moved through to the theatre around lunch, met Dr. Adib for the first time outside the theatre and felt very at ease that things were going to go well. I went in and thank goodness I made it out the other side. Don’t get me wrong there was some pain, uncomfortableness and I think I wet the bed but after some pain relief and a few deep breathes I put my big girl pants on and did the walking around the Ward like I was meant to, I did the deep breathing and took things slow. I was released on Saturday morning to the man I called my husband that had come to visit me for all of 5 minutes in the 2 days I was in hospital. He wasn’t much help and continued to say you did this to yourself so deal with it. I hope you all have supportive partners, friends and family because you can do it alone but you shouldn’t have to.
 
We stayed in Brisbane for the week before going to Varsity Lakes for my one-week review before I was allowed to go home. One week after returning home my Narcissistic Husband decided to let me know that I had changed too much already and that he couldn’t handle me skinny so he decided we should part ways. He never elaborated at the time that he had been cheating with a big girl for many months and in fact she was a close friend to us both and also our former boss. So I found myself packing and looking for somewhere else to live 16 days post-surgery. My brother let us move in with him which was amazing of him. I didn’t want anyone’s help, I thought I could do this all on my own as I had pretty much raised 3 children over the previous 22 years so why would this be any different? I moved everything I could in my car, I took time off work, I began to see a psychologist and after a small amount of time and hitting an all-time low I went on Antidepressants. My life had changed so much in such a short amount of time that I needed time to process it all. But with this, my focus soon became me, my food, my exercise, my health and my children. When you’ve been told every day leading up to surgery that “you did ok for my first wife”, and “no one else will ever want you” it soon gets you down. The thing was he had been putting me down for years and I just let it slide because I loved him, he had been lining his own pockets for months setting this up and the red flags were always there but the 2 people I trusted most both lied to my face and at the time I was so heartbroken and sad but right now just over 15 months post-op I am so, so, so very, Thankful because I made it out and a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders. I have a life now and I wouldn’t go back to what I had for $1 million dollars.
 
So with all those ups and downs, I was trying out the dating scene at the same time. Whoa, that is certainly different from when I was younger. I’m sure a lot of you know exactly what I mean too. Everyone’s texting, snap chatting, messaging, or swiping left & right. There’s no real face-to-face interface until you jump through a few hoops and outlast the competition. Don’t get me wrong I have met some amazing men along the way over the last 15 months. Men that have had the same surgery, that has considered it and also some men who have been pulled through the wringer just like me. Some things didn’t work out and as we all know hurt people hurt people so it’s time for me to work on myself again. I have been plateauing for 12 months and seem to go up and down between 92-97kg. I really want to loose some more and get down into the ’80s but I have to remember that it’s not a race, that I have lost a huge amount of weight and that it is amazing in itself. As long as I’m happy, healthy and honest with myself then I don’t see there is a problem.
 
I pushed myself very hard in the first 6 months and lost 50kg, since then everything had slowed down and it has very much turned into a mind game struggle as everything slows down. I have to remind myself I’m not failing, I have gone from a size 26/28 pants to 14/16 depending on the brand and size 22/24 tops to 12/14. I couldn’t buy a belt big enough to go around me at one time and I owned one pair of jeans that were so tight I could hardly get them on or off. I must admit the support and guidance from WLSA have been a godsend for me. When I was struggling everyone was only ever a call away. They listened to me cry they helped me keep calm, and they helped me see it’s not a race it’s a lifelong journey I am on. They checked on me even when I didn’t ask for them too. I would recommend anyone considering this surgery to take the leap if it’s something that you are thinking seriously and if any part of my story resonates with you then please contact them or me as the only thing I would change about my journey is that I didn’t do it sooner.

#WeightLossWarrior, 
Kellie Brackenbury

Message from WLSA:
Sometimes it’s the small things that we take for granted that really do count, so thank you Christine for reminding us Your story here is just a glimmer into what you have gone through and what you have achieved – after reading your full story, I’m inspired by your strength and bravery to not only make the decision to make a better life for yourself but for what you have overcome.

Felicity Cohen
CEO of WLSA

Find out which bariatric procedure(s) can help you lose weight effectively. Start a confidential conversation with us on Messenger now

*Disclaimer: Results may vary for each person

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