A Virginia woman who spent years devouring McDonald’s and spending $500 a month on DoorDash looks unrecognizable after shredding 126 pounds and undergoing $22,000 surgery.
Jillian Champ, 24, developed disordered eating habits at the age of 15. In the years that followed, she ate several McDonald’s breakfast orders, half a dozen donuts and a 20-piece chicken nugget every day.
The young woman ate cupcakes, sweet coffee and soda, and ate five fast food meals a day.
“Growing up, I thought I was fat, even though I wasn’t, because I had a bad relationship with food,” Champ explained.
‘When I developed binge eating disorder, I literally couldn’t stop eating. “I felt terrible about it and I hated being obese, but I didn’t know how to stop.”
Jillian Champ, 24, lost 126 pounds and spent $22,000 on weight-loss surgery after battling a binge eating disorder since her teens
The Virginia woman reached size XXXL before deciding to embark on a tough weight loss journey
Champ allegedly refuses multiple McDonald’s breakfast orders, sweet donuts, and chicken nuggets daily — in addition to spending $500 a month on DoorDash orders
By the time she was 20 years old, her weight had doubled, to 280 pounds and a size XXXXL.
One night, as Champ stood in front of the bathroom mirror, she promised to get changed.
“I saw my stomach hanging over my shirt and I thought, ‘I can’t believe I did this to myself,’” she said.
So she reduced her portion sizes, started exercising and opted for low-calorie meals like salad and chicken tacos.
By June 2023, Champ had lost 126 pounds – almost half her body weight. She lost another 10 pounds by opting for a $22,000 surgery to remove excess skin.
Once embarrassed to appear in photos, Champ is now “always taking new photos” of himself and even works as a consultant to help others lose weight.
‘I started losing weight, but it wasn’t always easy. I remember crying that it was “too hard.” But when I saw the number on the scale go down, I saw that I could do it, so I kept going,” she explained.
“Looking back, I never thought I’d be able to keep it up, but I’m so glad I did.”
Champ made the decision to change her life when she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror one evening
By June 2023, Champ had lost almost half her body weight, but she was unhappy with the excess skin left after her weight loss
With the financial support of her father and fiancé Houmin Khanehzarrin (pictured), Champ saved enough money for a procedure to remove 5 kilos of skin
She added aqua aerobics and mountain hiking to her exercise routine and learned to prepare many of her favorite meals in a healthier way
Champ opted for meals high in protein and volume, but low in calories, such as chicken tacos and salads
Before dropping the weight, Champ hid empty wrappers for her fiancé, Houmin Khanehzarrin, before returning from work.
In addition to her declining self-confidence, the 24-year-old admitted that her health was deteriorating.
“I couldn’t stand for more than 30 minutes when I was at my heaviest — and I was so heavy I could barely move,” Champ said. ‘I had back problems and constant pain in my feet. I didn’t even dare to get up from the couch to go to the toilet anymore.’
Before she took the plunge, she tried to lose weight every now and then, but she couldn’t stay focused.
Ultimately, she discovered that eating fewer calories than she burned was the key to shedding pounds.
Champ focused on preparing meals that were high in protein and volume, but low in calories. She realized she could prepare many of her favorite dishes in a healthier way. In the first two weeks, she lost a whopping 13 pounds.
‘The first four months were an extremely difficult adjustment, I remember crying. But I just kept going,” the 24-year-old said.
Champ tried to lose weight off and on for years, but couldn’t stay committed
Before the 24-year-old shed the pounds, he couldn’t stand for more than 30 minutes at a time
She hid empty wrappers for Khanehzarrin before he returned from work
Champ says she may lose some more weight ahead of her wedding date in September 2024, but is ‘pretty happy’ with her current appearance
Champ began incorporating exercises such as aqua aerobics and mountain hiking into her daily routine.
She lost another 20 pounds, but was dissatisfied with the excess skin on her stomach arms, which made her look like “a deflated version of myself.”
With financial support from her father and fiancé, Champ saved enough money for a procedure to remove the remaining 10 pounds.
“When I started my weight loss journey, I knew I was getting married and I didn’t want to look back at my wedding photos and hate them,” she said.
Champ revealed that she may lose a bit more weight leading up to her wedding date in September 2024, but is “pretty happy with where I am right now.”
“Now I look in the mirror and smile and think nice things about myself,” she said. “I’ll never go back to the way I was before.”