A woman who lost nine stone in a year after gastric sleeve surgery says strangers accused her husband of "controlling" her meals"

– due to her restrictive diet.

Hayley Lees, 31, piled on weight after she blamed herself for an ectopic pregnancy and was 20st and a size 22 at her heaviest.

She would eat a takeaway every night, gorge on family size bags of crisps and didn't exercise.

Hayley was desperate for a baby but felt she needed to lose weight to fall pregnant and was finally accepted for a gastric sleeve

- where a large part of the stomach is removed so it's much smaller than it was before - in August 2022.

She had the operation in July 2023 on the NHS and despite regretting it at first she now says it is the "best thing" she has done."

In just 12 months, Hayley has dropped to 10st 13lbs and is a size 10.

She now has a restrictive diet and finds herself only able to eat starter sized portions due to her smaller stomach.

She says her husband, Adam, 39, a production manager, has been supportive throughout but has struggled with strangers thinking he is "controlling" Hayley’s portion sizes at restaurants - as she will only order a starter and struggle to finish it."

Hayley, who works in a contract support and lives near Halifax, West Yorkshire, said: "My husband struggles because people think he is controlling me and telling me what I can and can’t eat. "

"People stare at you."

"When I go out to eat it's the waiters - they look at you funny."

"In Greece - they said in Greek 'I think she is getting abused'."

"Once I had a woman who was going to go for a dessert and because I said I was full she refused to get one. She'd looked at me as if to think I'm smaller than her so I shouldn't be eating more."

"Now when I go to a restaurant I tell them I have had weight loss surgery and ask for a doggy bag."

"Adam has been so supportive. He has seen me blossom."

"Now I feel a lot happier. People don’t recognise me."

"I’m a totally different person."

Adam said: "The first time we went out we sat down and the waiter came over. I ordered a main meal and fizzy coke and Hayley ordered a side of mash."

"He gave me a look like he was accusing me of controlling what she was eating and drinking."

"He kept asking 'do you want anything else?'"

"It's not nice. It made me paranoid that I was getting looked at for what she ate as at this point she hadn't lost that much weight."

"I worried it looked like I was forcing her into having a diet."

"It's not just a quick trip to hospital to have your stomach removed."

Hayley had always been a "yo yo dieter" but found herself piling on the weight after struggling with an ectopic pregnancy in July 2019."

She said: "It spiralled out of control."

"I blamed myself."

"I wasn’t a nice person."

"I remember because I blamed myself I packed a bag and walked to the train station."

"Adam had to follow me to check I was OK."

"We could have broken up but he was so loving."

Hayley said she was "extremely lazy" and would eat several family sized bags of crisps in one sitting."

She said: "I wouldn’t leave the house without a full face of make-up on because I was anxious."

"I would stop breathing in my sleep due to my sleep apnea and weight." "

Hayley looked into gastric sleeve surgery in March 2022 and was refused three times before she was finally allowed the operation – due to her fertility issues and PCOS diagnosis.

Following tests for the operation she was diagnosed with sleep apnea and stage four liver cirrhosis.

Hayley lost two stone naturally ahead of the operation after not wanting to feel "ashamed" on a birthday trip to Las Vegas."

She lost another two stone on a reduced diet before her operation on July 5, 2023.

Hayley said: "I woke up regretting it. I thought I had wrecked my body."

"I had so much pain."

Hayley gradually started to lose weight and six months post-surgery she is already at her goal weight of 10st 13lbs.

She now hits the gym most days and loves going on long walks with Adam at the weekend.

She said: "My taste buds have changed. I hate chocolate now. I can’t eat sugar."

"I get a lot of male attention that I never used to get."

Despite not being able to eat very much each day, Hayley still says she can "enjoy food"."

She said: "You can eat normally."

"It’s completely changed me as a person."

"I think it is the best thing I could have done."

Before weight: 20st


Size: 22

Diet:
Breakfast: Bag of crisps at 11
Lunch: Sausage sandwich
Dinner: KFC trilogy meal and two extra hot wings
Snacks: Flavoured nuts, sweets, cans of diet coke, Fanta

Now weight: 10st 13lbs
Size: 8-10

Diet:
Breakfast: Latte
Lunch: Cheese string, pepperoni stick
Dinner: Quarter of a portion of a Gusto meal - such as crispy chicken curry burrito
Snacks: Cheese