A WOMAN who was previously deemed obese and refused entry to New Zealand due to her weight has opened up about her ten-stone weight loss.
Effy Murphy once tipped the scales at 22 stone, but since having gastric sleeve surgery, she’s lost almost half of her weight and now stands at 11 and a half stone.
Reflecting on her weight loss journey, Effy, from Cork in Ireland, explained: “Growing up, I used food as my comfort. I was constantly wanting the bigger portions.
“My weight was just getting bigger and bigger.”
The 38-year-old, who previously wore size 24 clothing, continued: “I was always the bigger friend out of my friends.
“I remember being with them and they were buying size 10 and 12 clothes and then I’d go to the shop and nothing in the shop would fit me.”
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Effy, who is a mum, explained that this only continued as she got older and her weight eventually started to impact her every day.
She recalled being “obese” and not being able to go on the rides with her kids at Disneyland, and on another “embarrassing” occasion actually getting stuck in one.
And while she appeared brimming with confidence on the outside – even taking part in plus size beauty pageants – she said it was a different story behind closed doors.
She recalled: “People think, ‘she’s very confident’ but it was far from the truth. My marriage was failing, weight was just getting bigger and bigger and that was it for me – I needed to do something.”
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However, it was when Effy was denied a visa to New Zealand that everything changed.
In a recent interview with Truly, she said: “I was moving to New Zealand permanently as a family and applied for the visa.
“They said that I was a health hazard to their system because I was morbidly obese.”
Effy said that moment acted as a huge turning point for her – and one she’s now thankful for.
She explained: “I broke down – I mean, what could you do? But it also made me motivate myself to actually lose the weight.
She explained: “I researched weight loss surgery and I came across a hospital and booked it – a gastric sleeve that removes 90% of your stomach.
“And then they’ll also remove the hunger gland so you don’t feel any hunger for at least 12 months after your surgery.”
It also made me motivate myself to actually lose the weight
After having the procedure, Effy saw the side effects almost immediately and said she had “so much more energy” and that she was happy to be “able to run around” with her kids.
And the numbers on the scales speak for themselves.
Effy revealed: “At my heaviest I was 310IB and now I’m 161IB, in total I’ve lost 150IBs.”
Effy’s also continued to compete in beauty pageants and she’s had many crowning victories along the way – with her friends saying her confidence is clear for all to see.
And she’s even returned to Disneyland so that she could make new memories with her kids.
“I made it my mission to go back after I lost the weight – and I did. I went back on the ride and I lifted myself out.
“I remember my son, who was about 5 at the time, said, ‘Look mummy, you’re not fat anymore.’”
And she said she’s never looked back since.
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“I’ve got more energy and I think mentally it has been the biggest difference overall,” Effy concluded. “I might look different on the outside but inside I’m a completely different person.”
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