A mother who was left weighing 370 pounds after nearly eating herself to death tells how she lost more than half her body weight and turned her life around.
Claire Burt from New Zealand developed a severe binge eating disorder at age 28 and refused to leave the house because of her appearance.
She couldn’t tie her shoelaces, so she wore sandals all year round. She could barely breathe as she walked to her house, which was on top of a small hill.
At one point she was eating as many as 50 chicken nuggets and two large pizzas in one sitting, and she was eating these “mega meals” three or four times a day.
“Sometimes I would pass out and not remember eating anything, and then I would find crumbs on my cheek,” she told FEMAIL.
“But every time I got up and just ate more.”
The now 31-year-old compared the crippling binge eating disorder to “an addiction.”
Claire wanted to heal herself and decided to have gastric bypass surgery..
Claire Burt from New Zealand developed a crippling binge eating disorder at age 28 and refused to leave the house because of her appearance
It got to the point where she was eating 50 chicken nuggets and two large pizzas in one sitting and then binging three more times a day.
Now she is a happy, healthy mother (pictured today)
On April 28, 2020, she underwent surgery and 80 percent of her stomach was removed, leaving her unable to eat large meals.
In just over 12 months she lost a whopping 92 kg. After that she became the mother of her daughter Lulu and is pregnant again.
“I wasn’t living before – I just existed. I wouldn’t leave the house because I was too ashamed to go out in public,” she said.
‘I spent my days in bed or eating.
‘I was living in this bubble. I only relied on my closest friends and family to visit me. It was a vicious cycle because the more weight you gain, the more depressed your mindset becomes, so you eat more and so it goes on.’
At her heaviest weight, Claire could barely perform simple daily tasks.
“It got to the point where I could barely pull up my underwear or do things by myself. I had lost all hope.”
Claire was bullied constantly in high school, which eventually led to her eating disorders.
“I was taller than the average kid, so I struggled with bullying. I went from bulimia to anorexia to binge eating,” she said.
‘I suffered from eating disorders on both ends of the spectrum. Binge eating disorder was the most destructive.’
Claire said she was suicidal because of her binge eating and weight gain, and that the surgery was her “savior.”
After the procedure, she suffered a ‘rare’ complication and nearly died because her body rejected the surgery and her stomach had twisted.
“I wasn’t living before – I just existed. I wouldn’t leave the house because I was too ashamed to go out in public,” she said
At her worst, she was suicidal and said weight loss surgery was her “savior” because it changed the course of her life.
“I couldn’t keep anything down, not even water. I don’t remember much of it, but I had to go to the hospital. Then I had to take fluids for six weeks,” she said.
After she recovered, she was able to repair her broken relationship with food and start a new life.
“I started running and getting outside, socializing and learning to love myself, and I really started living at 28,” Claire said.
“But it makes me sad that I feel like I’ve lost a lot of my 20s.”
Claire lost the pounds by taking up running, drastically reducing her food intake, cutting out fast food and eating fruits and vegetables.
“I’ve never eaten healthy before, but now I love it,” she said.
Claire realises that ‘there is no such thing as good or bad food’ and doesn’t count calories because she doesn’t want to focus too much on what she eats.
“I did it all by myself. I started running, I didn’t have to focus on a strict diet and I did everything in moderation,” she said.
“I no longer had a voice in my head that was obsessed with food and telling me to eat. It went from a constant voice to silence. It was amazing.”
Her meals are now “super basic” and consist of fish, chicken and vegetables.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’ve lost weight and I’m not the big girl I used to be,” she said.
Claire, who documents her inspiring weight loss journey on her Instagram page Life of A Binge Eater, shared her extraordinary story in an effort to break the stigma surrounding weight loss surgery.
Now the proud mother of daughter Lulu and her partner Charlie are expecting a son
She met her partner Charlie in 2022 and the couple will welcome their second child later this year.
“When I was 370lbs I was told I would never be able to get pregnant. It was so heartbreaking because I always wanted to be a mother. Now that I have Lulu and another baby on the way, it’s unbelievable,” Claire said.
If she could, she would tell herself not to “give up hope” and that “the world would be a beautiful place for you.”
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