By Dionne Meehan
A LETTERKENNY woman has shed a whopping 16 stone after undergoing weight loss surgery in Turkey.
Tanya Rasher’s weight loss journey began during the pandemic, when she hit 27 stone on the scales.
Describing herself as having an addiction to food, her health began declining rapidly.
“I have always been quite a heavy girl and then unfortunately during the pandemic, like everyone else, the weight just piled on,” she told the Donegal News.
“I actually got up to 27 stone and my health just really deteriorated.
“So much so, that I couldn’t really walk up the stairs.”
Taking the pandemic as a chance to reset, Tanya began researching bariatric weight loss procedures and stumbled upon The Health Store Turkey.
“I like what they stood for,” she said.
“I decided it is now or never, so I booked my operation on April 1, 2021.”
With her weight going against her, Tanya said she was nervous ahead of the procedure.
“But by doing research, that calmed any nerves I had,” she said.
“You could get an operation here and there are risks.
“Obviously my size was going against me as well but I just thought I was getting to a stage where I was either going to be bed bound or I wouldn’t be here anymore anyway.
“I think it was a case of I am going to die either way, but this is a chance to save my life, which it has done.”
Tanya said undergoing the procedure gave her the chance to work out her relationship with food, while allowing her time to work on herself.
“Unfortunately, having an addiction to food is different than having an addiction to alcohol or drugs,” she said.
“We need food to live and our bodies need it to function.
“They took away 80 per cent of my stomach so you can’t eat.
“The gastric sleeve gave me the chance to work on my brain.
“That has been the thing that helped me keep the weight off, working on the addiction to food, as well as having the sleeve.”
Now having lost almost 16 stone, Tanya said the procedure saved her life.
“It gave me my life back,” she said.
“I see my before pictures and I don’t remember seeing myself like that.
“Health wise now, I can walk and my mental health is much better.
“Before, if I wanted to get in to my car, I used to have to have an extender on the seatbelt because I was that big it wouldn’t go around my tummy.
“I also had to be very careful with seats, I did get stuck a couple of times.
“It is silly things like that, that people will take for granted.”
Before the weight loss, Tanya said she shied away from social outings.
“I might have lost 16 stone but I gained that in confidence,” she said.
“I love telling people about my story, I know how it feels and I know how awful you feel about yourself.
“I want to help.
“Even if I could reach out and help one person that would be fantastic.”
And that is exactly what Tanya and the team from The Health Store Turkey are hoping to do next Sunday, March 9 at their upcoming consultation event.
Taking place in the Station House Hotel in Letterkenny from 11am to 6pm, Tanya, along with Nihal Terzi, CEO of The Health Store Turkey, will offer insights into safe and effective bariatric surgery options abroad.
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