Daily Mail A former fast food addict who ate four McDonald's meals a day lost 154 lbs. in 18 months by ditching junk food for healthy burrito bowls.
Mother-of-three Kelsey Bonas, 32, from Hamilton, Ontario, spent more than a decade trying yo-yo diets and at her heaviest tipped the scales at 300 lbs. while eating more than 4,000 calories a day.
After marrying her husband Wesley and having three children, Kelsey found herself at a size 28. But she has now shrunk down to a healthy size 6 and weighs 132 lbs.
She would often visit McDonald's or similar outlets two or three times a day and generally ate two of the fast food giant's breakfast sandwiches in the morning and another two burgers for lunch - with nugget meals as a snack.
Kelsey's lifestyle meant she struggled to keep up with her energetic kids, Brooke, 12, Carson, 11, and Scarlet, five and joined a waiting list for gastric bypass surgery in 2017.
Though she had already been waiting nine months for the surgery, her 'reality moment' came in May 2018, when she needed an extender belt on a flight and her kids couldn't hide their embarrassment.
After the bypass she battled with her mind and body, but Kelsey insists she has "no regrets."
Breakfast:Two McDonald's breakfast sandwiches, fries, soda
Lunch:McDonald's Cheeseburger, McDonald's chicken burger, fries, large Coca Cola
Dinner:Meat, potatoes and vegetables (large portion with second helpings)
Snacks: Soda, chips, cookies, McDonald's fries and chicken nuggets
Breakfast: One egg omelette with vegetables and cheese, cooked with coconut oil and some fruit
Lunch: Lettuce burrito bowl
Dinner: Veg, potato or rice, protein (side plate portion)
Snacks: Cheese crackers and meat, peanut butter and crackers, veggies and hummus, popcorn, fruit
At a svelte 132 lbs., she is now able to enjoy her "amazing" life - though body dysmorphia means she is still drawn to the plus-size section in shops.
She said: "[The gastric bypass] was the scariest and hardest decision I've ever had to make. I'm now able to enjoy life. It's amazing. It's hard and definitely not the magic pill people make it out to be, but I have no regrets."
Kelsey had been a serial dieter for years when her doctor suggested she needed to lose weight.
Kelsey had been a serial dieter for years when her doctor suggested she needed to lose weight.
She had dedicated a decade to parenting and before she realized, she was at her heaviest. Soon she noticed her weight was impacting quality time with her kids, who were all under 10 at the time, and vowed to take urgent action.
Kelsey said: "I'd pretty much tried everything you can think of when it comes to fad diets. I have, in the past, suffered with food addiction, which is one of those things you can't escape."
"At one point I couldn't drive past a McDonald's without the urge to stop and get something," she said. "My doctor came to me at one of my appointments and said 'you're not living a full life.'"
"You're living - but are you happy? Are you able to do things with your children that you want to?" the doctor asked.
"Unfortunately my answer was no. I couldn't run, I couldn't play. I wasn't being the best version of myself."
Kelsey was a month away from weight loss surgery in May 2018 when she took a holiday to visit Wesley's family in the UK.
Her final light-bulb moment came as she tried to buckle up and couldn't get her seat belt to fasten.
She was forced to ask for an extender belt while her "mortified" children struggled to hide their embarrassment.
Exactly a year later, she returned, this time with a trimmer figure, and she was able to go backpacking with the rest of the group.
Kelsey said: "Going on an airplane was an example of one of those lows when I thought 'I need to take charge in my life because if I keep going this way, I'm not going to be around to enjoy it.'"
On her return from the trip, Kelsey went into hospital for the surgery that would change her life forever.
Although she had been supported for nine months beforehand by a medical team, nothing could prepare her for the harsh reality of recovery.
Kelsey said: "It was a total shock. You go from eating whatever you want when you want, to having the surgery and having to teach yourself all over again how to eat. It isn't a process that happens overnight. You don't just wake up one day and have surgery. You're in a program for about a year first. You have to see a dietitian to see if you're willing to make those lifestyle changes, because if you can't make the changes, it'll all be for nothing."
Around six months after the surgery she was able to fit into a size 18 - dropping an incredible five dress sizes and no longer needing plus-size clothes.
Although she could easily pick out any clothes she liked, Kelsey still looked in the mirror and saw her larger self - her weight loss had triggered body dysmorphia.
Kelsey said: "The weight started melting off within weeks. Although I very quickly got down to a size 14 pants [UK size 18] from a size 28 [UK 32], my brain still saw my body as a size 28. For a long time when I would look in the mirror, or while I shopped, I still saw and felt like the 300lb (21st 6lbs) woman I used to be. It took a lot of work to recognize and accept that I have a changed in size."
As Kelsey celebrated a year since her surgery, she finally hit a size 6, but was left with saggy skin.
In October 2019, she opted to go under the knife once more for a tummy tuck and breast lift to help remove it.
Now, Kelsey is healthier than ever. "My kids are where I see the big difference. They are proud. They are happy because I can do so much more."
Slideshow: How to set reasonable weight loss goals (Courtesy: Mom.com)
