Woman who ditched 19st says she'd do it again, despite losing organ

A woman who ate 10 chocolate bars a day shed 19 stone thanks to surgery and would "do it again" - despite losing her gallbladder to complications. Martha McCarthy, 32, tipped the scales at 29st 4lbs before she underwent a gastric bypass in Estonia in August 2021.

Her weight crept on due to years of "secret eating" - consuming up to 4,000 calories each evening when she was alone in her room. Martha had a ''big sweet tooth" and guzzled up to seven cans of Diet Coke a day, followed by bars of chocolate.

At her biggest, she had to order specially made clothing to fit her size 28 to 30 frame. When a five-minute walk to the shop left her ''crying in agony" she decided it was time to make a change.

Martha did her research and found a weight loss clinic in Estonia and paid almost £5,200 (€6,100) for flights, hotel and surgery. The operation was a success and the weight fell away - with her losing a whopping 19st 9lbs and dropping to 9st 5lbs and a slender size 14.

Unfortunately, she suffered health complications after surgery - including a leak in her gut and gallstones. Despite numerous trips to St Vincent University Hospital, Dublin, and having her gallbladder removed, Martha would do surgery again "in a heartbeat".

The trainee optician, from Bray, Ireland, said: "The surgery was all done correctly – I just had a bad reaction to it. But I would do it again 100 times over, no questions asked.

"I would rather have these health issues over the ones I had due to be overweight. I'm so much better off - it's changed my life."

Martha started gaining weight in her mid-20s after she started working full-time and could afford takeaways and nights out. She would often skip breakfast, have a deli sandwich for lunch followed by a takeaway for dinner.

But the self-confessed secret eater said she would consume most of her calories while alone. While working in a hotel, Martha would sneak off on a 'toilet break' to consume sausages from the breakfast buffet.

At night, she ate chocolate and other snacks in her room - eating between 3,000 and 4,000 calories each evening. Martha - who lived with her family at the time - said her relatives were always "concerned" about her diet.

She said: "I hide a lot of wrappers, but my family knew I was eating badly in secret. Chocolate was my favourite and I didn't care what I ate, I'd get whatever was on offer.

"I would also drink a lot of empty calories like milkshakes and coffees with lots of syrup and creamers. Martha suffered from high blood pressure and sleep apnoea – when a person stops breathing in their sleep. She tried various diets over the years but found ''nothing worked'' for her.

She was even prescribed Ozempic - a drug that suppresses your appetite - but was forced to stop after feeling constantly nauseous. During the national lockdown in 2020, Martha "barely left the house" and continued gaining weight. When walking to the shops became too difficult, she decided to make a change.

"I was literally crying in the aisles because my knees hurt so badly,” Martha said. "I'd had enough I started researching into weight surgery and found a clinic abroad.”

The procedure involved reducing the stomach size and bypassing food to a small pouch in the intestine. On returning to the UK, Martha watched the weight "fall away" - losing 10 stone in nine months.

But the rapid weight loss left Martha with a catalogue of health issues including gallstones. She had been admitted to hospital several times over the last few years due internal stomach ulcers, hernias and a leak from gut.

Despite these complications, Martha is pleased with the results of her surgery and is currently saving for skin removal surgery. Martha said: "I used to think surgery was the easy way out, but it's definitely not. You always read about success stories or total fails - but I'm something in-between.

"I'm proof that there can be complications afterwards and I want to be totally transparent about the process. It's not been a walk in the park, but I have absolutely no regrets.''