Natalie has become fighting fit after being given five years to live (From Clacton and Frinton Gazette)

Natalie has become fighting fit after being given five years to live

12:00pm Sunday 15th July 2012 in North Essex By Helen Barnett

A FITNESS fighter has become a hospital’s biggest success story by losing nearly three quarters of her body weight after surgery.

Natalie White, 47, of East Street, Dovercourt, shed 20 stones and 12 dress sizes in her quest to be healthy and gain the confidence to go out in public.

Her husband, Terry White, has also had gastric bypass surgery in an attempt to shrink his 21 stones figure.

Tipping the scales at 35 stones three pounds, doctors said Natalie had five years to live if she didn’t do something to tackle her size.

She had tried dieting and medication including the highest dosage of Orlistat which stops the body from absorbing fat.

But nothing worked. She was becoming a prisoner in her own home unable to leave, paranoid of people staring and saying comments.

Wanting to live a long life with her husband, Natalie took the drastic step to go under the knife and have a gastric sleeve gastrectomy last July.

Exercise and eating small balanced meals has meant Natalie has dropped to 15 stones to become a size 16.

Natalie’s bariatric nurse at Homerton Hospital said her 76 per cent weight loss makes her the most successful weight loss patient at the hospital for her type of surgery.