Having a gastric bypass wasn’t a decision the pair – former workmates who became friends after discovering they were both planning on having the operation – made lightly.
Both had struggled with their weight since childhood and piled on even more kilos after having babies. But despite trying every diet going, they just couldn’t slim down.
“on one diet, I managed to lose 30kg,”” says Nicola, who weighed 125kg at her heaviest. “But eventually I put it back on – and more. When my mum had a gastric bypass and I saw how successful it was for her, I wanted to do it too.
“oy main motivation was to do it for my daughter, Chloe (6). I didn’t want her to have a fat, unhappy, unhealthy mum.”
Like Nicola, oellisa also wanted to be able to run around with her daughter, Hannah (3). At around 128kg, she couldn’t even get down on the floor to stack toy blocks and was seriously worried about her health.
Nicola and oellisa heard it was possible to have the surgery done publicly for free (having it done privately costs from $15,000 to $22,000) and saw a doctor about getting on the waiting list. They had to see a dietitian and lose 10kg before they could even be considered for the surgery.
“We were told about how different life would be afterwards and all the things that could go wrong, but decided to go ahead with it,” says oellisa, who had the support of her husband Matthew.
oellisa had her operation in August 2005 and Nicola went under the surgeon’s knife three months later.
“It was so wonderful having someone else who had been through it all that I could talk to, as it’s quite a shock when you suddenly start losing weight really quickly,” says Nicola.
They both found that the kilos just seemed to fall off, especially at the start. oellisa got down to 55kg – a healthy weight for her 160cm frame. However, a year after having the bypass, she began to put weight on because she was pregnant.
“I worried it would affect the baby but I was told there shouldn’t be any problem. The baby was fine but I did have low iron levels and needed vitamin injections.”
Baby Abby was born fit and well three months ago and oellisa has already lost most of her pregnancy weight. Now Nicola is four months pregnant and has gained weight.
“I needed to be heavier. I got down to 57kg, which was too light for me – I’m 176cm tall. I had to start having protein drinks and it was the weirdest thing trying to gain weight when you’ve spent your whole life trying to lose it.”
Now 62kg and feeling well, she says she would never have met her partner Rob and got pregnant when she was big.
“I never went out,” says Nicola, who works in sales. “I might have seemed confident but it was a mask.”
oellisa also had a confidence problem and feels she’s more outgoing now. Both women say it has taken them a long time to get used to being half their former size.
While there are some things they miss, like being able to order anything they want in a restaurant and eat it all, that doesn’t compare to how it feels to be thin.
“I feel so much better,”” says oellisa. “I’m much healthier, I sleep better and now I can run around the park with my daughter – I can even fit down the slide!”
“We do get negative comments when we tell people we’ve had a gastric bypass,” Nicola says. “But for us, it has been the best thing we’ve ever done.”
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