How a gastric bypass operation helped Bethany live the life she wanted

Diet and exercise are the first steps towards losing weight, but for patients like Bethany, an unhealthy relationship with food saw her weight spiral out of control, leaving her feeling trapped in a cycle that was affecting her physical and mental wellbeing.

We asked Bethany to tell us about her weight loss journey, the procedure itself, and the positive impact it has had on her life.

Bethany’s weight began to increase rapidly when she was a teenager.

My bad relationship with food started when I was about 9 or 10. And as I entered my teenage years, it spiralled out of control where I was, I'd be sad so I'd eat a packet of crisps or eat a cake. Then I'd feel more sad so I'd eat more.

Then it just got out of control because I couldn't break that cycle. I'd been looking at weight loss surgery on and off since I was about 16. Then one day my brother came in and said, "Oh, one of my colleagues had their gastric bypass at Spire Gatwick Park. Why don't you talk to him and find out a bit about it."

Bethany opted for a gastric bypass, a procedure which involves reducing your stomach size and connecting it to the lower part of your small intestine.

So I spent about an hour on the phone to this person and said, he totally sold me on the idea. So I went onto the Spire website, booked in for an enquiry and they phoned me back almost instantly. I think, I've got to say my confidence has shot up because of the surgery. Instead of being able to shop in two shops that sell my size, I can go in pretty much any shop I want and get that pretty dress that I like but I could never get into before.

And it's just opened so many doors for me now. My family were a bit stunned at first when I told them I was going in for it, but they, they've been really supportive because they know that my weight had been getting me down quite a lot. And then with my friends, sometimes they walk past me in the street because they haven't recognised me.

Then I'll say, "Well, you're not going to talk to me?" and they say, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise it was you!" So I wanted to have it done when I was quite young so I've got time for this excess skin to go back and it'll be easy to recover from the anaesthetic. Just recovery in general, I think, at my age would have been easier than say in 5 or 10 years.

And I was like, "I might not be here then." I might have eaten myself into a grave.

Every year we help more than 2,000 people to take control of their weight, with dedicated aftercare teams to guide you through the entire process. If you have struggled with your weight, book an appointment with a specialist, or learn more about the surgical and non-surgical weight loss treatments we offer at Spire.