Copyright irishmirror
Irish woman Jessica Daly battled with her weight for years, attempting numerous eating plans and diets without success. Eventually, her weight began affecting her mobility and she hit "rock bottom". Now, having shed 14 stone, Jessica, from Cork, says she's more content and healthier than she's ever been. "I was really going down the stage where my quality of life was diminished," Jessica said of her life pre-surgery. "I had no quality of life. I was anti-social and just very, very unhealthy. If I didn't do something I wasn't going to have the future I wanted for myself. It wasn't an easy decision to make but it was the best option for me because it gave me my life back." Following years of attempting to shed pounds and being unable to discover a programme that suited her, Jessica determined that the most suitable choice was to undergo weight loss surgery. Her operation proceeded without complications, and her recovery progressed well. "Overall, looking back on it three years later, it was a very, very positive experience," she told RSVP. "But at the time when you're going through it there's a lot of prep work to get yourself to the healthiest you can be before surgery, and there's the mental side of it which can be the toughest part. It's not easy; I know people see weight loss surgery as people dropping tons of weight really quickly but it's really, really mentally challenging.", reports Cork Beo . "It's hard to explain to someone who might not suffer from food addiction or any type of food disorders, but when you've been dependent on food for so long as your source of comfort and that's suddenly taken away from you because you physically can't deal with it, there's a lot of mental healing you have to do to be able to cope with that." Fast forward three years, Jessica has shed 14 stone and it's completely transformed her life – but it's not a quick fix by any means and it has its highs and lows: "It gets to a stage where you're kind of on your own," she said. "Your food restriction isn't as high anymore, you can eat more food, you really can eat what you want after a certain stage and it's about your own discipline and wanting to keep going. In the last year, I've put back up two stone and in the grand scheme of things after losing 14 stone that's nothing really; but it's still mentally challenging to think I've put in all this work and I've gone backwards. "It's a lot of reckoning with yourself and a lot of back and forth. It's not easy but my experience has been positive because it's taught me so much and it's made me a stronger person and able to put my own wellbeing and my own goals in front of absolutely everything else. "Although I might have slipped or fallen throughout my three-year journey so far, I've always been able to bring myself back around and I think that's due to the resilience I learned throughout the whole process of getting ready for weight loss surgery." After shedding an impressive 14 stone, Jessica says her mental and physical health has transformed. "The changes are humongous," she said. "I've brought my cholesterol down, my bloods are at a good level, I'm so much fitter now. It's really changed my physical health, I'm extremely healthy. "My mental health is a big one. My outlook on life has completely changed. I still suffer with anxiety and just because I've lost weight that doesn't go away, but it makes everything so much easier because I no longer live with the shame of being who I am. I'm 100% confident in being myself. "To put it all in perspective, this day three years ago I was working from home, leaving my house maybe twice a week, I wasn't seeing other human beings except for my family, I was just not living life at all, I was just surviving. Whereas now I work in an open plan office, I'm consistently surrounded by people, I'm able to express my opinions, I'm able to travel, I'm not afraid to be alone in public." Looking back on her experience, Jessica's guidance to anyone facing a similar situation three years on is to seek medical advice and conduct thorough research before considering surgery: "There's so much work you need to put in beforehand and afterwards," she explained. "Don't make the decision on a whim." You can follow Jessica @itsjessdalyy on Instagram and @itsjessdaly on TikTok, where she shares lifestyle content. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here .
