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‘I left Turkey clinic with half my stomach and new man but trolls say he’ll leave despite 10st weight loss,’ says mum
See the results of Grace's weight loss in the video above and read about her shocking before diet
A FOOD addict met her partner while both in Turkey for surgery, but despite her 10st weight loss, trolls still say he'll 'leave her'.
Grace Dudley, 33, a TikTok content creator, nearly “ate herself to an early grave” by scoffing takeaways all day due to grief.
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The stay-at-home mum said: "I was 27 stone and eating three or four takeaways a day.
“I'd have a McDonald's breakfast, then I'd get something like a Smashburger for lunch, then a kebab for tea and I'd be hungry again and order a pizza later on.
"I could barely stand, I had horrific sleep apnoea. I was completely immobile, I couldn't get to my front door. My legs and hips couldn't carry the weight."
Grace put on 9st in four years due to comfort eating and was tipping the scales at 27st, ballooning to a size 28.
Read more on weight loss
Realising she was practically immobile, Grace decided to make a change for the sake of her eight-year-old son Vinnie.
The mum-of-one underwent gastric sleeve surgery in July 2022 - and has lost more than a third of her body weight since the operation.
But her trip for surgery abroad changed her life in more ways than one.
She says: "My life since that day in Turkey has changed forever. Now I'm looking at rings and wedding dresses.”
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Grace met 35-year-old dad-of-three Terry, who was having his teeth done, while in Turkey.
The pair have been inseparable ever since.
I saved thousands of pounds for weight loss surgery in Turkey then dropped 4 dress sizes naturally
Striking photos show Grace's incredible 10st weight loss that's left her unrecognisable to friends and family.
However, cruel trolls online say Grace is "punching" in the relationship.
Grace, from Rainham, Essex, said: "Trolls say 'he'll leave her', 'it's only a matter of time before he leaves her for someone else'.
"They call us 'little and large' and [say] 'he's too good for her'.
"Typically in today's society, Terry's a lot better looking than me. A lot of people say 'she's punching'.
"I think the world of him so I understand why other people would think that looks-wise.
"But at the end of the day, I don't really see looks, we see each other's hearts and souls. It's very shallow just to see looks.
"We look at these trolls now and just laugh, it's just funny. We are so comfortable with how happy we are - our love just overcomes anything."
'I didn't eat to live, I lived to eat'
Grace credits the weight-loss operation for saving her life after piling on the pounds following the loss of her dad from Covid in 2020.
She says: "I was without a doubt a food addict. I didn't eat to live, I lived to eat. I was eating myself to an early grave."
After reaching breaking point, Grace began researching weight-loss surgery and opted to undergo a gastric sleeve operation in Turkey.
Costing £3,000, Grace went under the knife on July 3, 2023 and said her life has been transformed - losing a mammoth ten stone in six months.
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Grace's diet before and after
TYPICAL DIET BEFORE SURGERY:
Breakfast: McDonald's McMuffin
Lunch: Smash Burger
Dinner: Kebab
Late-night snack: Domino's pizza
TYPICAL DIET NOW:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with avocado
Lunch: Chicken salad
Dinner: Fish and vegetables or salad
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Grace said: "That was the first day of the rest of my life, I can now jog and take my son out.
"My self-confidence has grown through the roof. My mental health has seen the biggest improvement. My sleep apnoea has gone, my risk of diabetes has gone.
"I think so differently about food now. Before I would've eaten three Big Mac meals in one sitting. If I think about a Big Mac now it makes me feel physically sick."
As well as leaving Turkey with half her stomach, Grace left with her dream man too after a chance meeting at a dental clinic.
Grace said: "Terry met me at my absolute ugliest and my worst and we fell in love there and then. We're still together happier than ever, our children love each other.
"I never thought I'd meet the man of my dreams out there, he's my biggest cheerleader.”
Construction worker Terry said he felt an "immediate spark" with Grace after meeting in Turkey.
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Terry said: "The last thing I was looking for was love, it was an immediate spark. I've never felt this way about anyone before.
"We never stopped texting after leaving Turkey and met up a week later. We've been inseparable since."
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Different types of weight loss surgery
For many people who are overweight or obese, they may feel they have exhausted options for weight loss and want to try something more drastic.
Weight loss surgery may be available to them on the NHS if they have a BMI over 40 and have a condition that may be improved with weight loss, such as diabetes.
But the availability of these procedures largely depends on where you live in the UK. People can also pay privately.
Weight loss surgery is a common and safe procedure. However, as with any operation, there are risks, such as a blood clot, a band slipping out of place, a stomach infection, gallstones and excessive skin from weight loss that in most cases, won’t be removed on the NHS.
In all of the following options, the space in the stomach is reduced, therefore a person feels fuller after eating less food. They lose weight as a result.
However, it is necessary for them to also learn good eating habits and have a healthy balanced diet, too.
Gastric bypass
The stomach is divided into two using a staple. The smaller part is connected to the intestines, effectively cutting how much space there is in the stomach by half.
The operation takes around two hours.
Gastric band
A band is tied around the top of the stomach and inflated so that it tightens.
The operation takes three to four hours.
Gastric balloon
Patients swallow an empty balloon which is attached to a tube.
The balloon is filled with water via the tube, taking around 20 minutes, so that it fills around two-thirds of the stomach space.
Sleeve gastrectomy
Around 80 per cent of the stomach is removed in surgery to make it much smaller and a sleeve shape.
The operation takes between one and three hours.
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