Standing in front of the mirror in her underwear, kneading the rolls of loose skin on her stomach like pizza dough, the look of revulsion on Lisa Riley ’s face is plain to see.
After 18 months of hard graft to lose almost 12st and transform herself from a size 28 to a 12, instead of the dream shape she had envisaged, she felt repulsed by her baggy form and the 60 stretch marks criss-crossing her tum.
More than a stone of loose, hanging skin left her asking whether it would have been better to remain obese than be left with a body she hated even more and which was causing her severe pain.
Lisa Riley is loving her new look (Image: ITV)
Lisa shows off her baggy skin in documentary (Image: ITV)
Lisa, 41, said: “When I made the decision to lose weight, I never for one second imagined that I would end up looking like that. It never occurred to me that the loose skin would be so bad.
“I thought why on earth have I lost all this weight? I looked worse than I did when I was obese. And it was the pain as well. The skin was flapping about and dragging.
“I felt like I had done so well losing the weight but I had ended up with the booby prize. I was revolted by my own image, it was rancid.
“I was used to seeing the obese Lisa reflection, but this saggy mess was new, it was painful and it was quashing the brilliance of what I had done.”
Thrilled Lisa shows her post surgery body to her best friend (Image: ITV)Lisa felt she was left with no option but to go under the knife to rid her of the ugly rolls for good.
She could have had surgery in secret, but she took the brave decision to allow a documentary crew to follow her.She even agreed to show the naked body she detested to the world to highlight the problems faced by thousands of people who lose vast amounts of weight each year.The actress and Loose Women presenter said: “I wanted to show the brutality of it. In life you can’t sympathise or have empathy with anybody unless you can see it. “If I can help one person, and I know I have helped thousands, then for me it has been worthwhile.
After surgery a fully recovered Lisa Riley before appearing on Loose Women (Image: ITV)
“People used to say, ‘Oh, it is amazing how much weight you have lost.’ But they had no idea what was going on under my clothes.”I used to tuck all the rolls of skin into my tights and underwear, I was very good at hiding it.
“When you are on this weight loss journey, food becomes the enemy and you have to go to the gym, you have to move.”But the movement was becoming a severe problem. It really hurt, it rubbed and it would get red, and it was hard to clean between the folds.“I was determined to show the harsh reality of it. I used to say it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. Well I ain’t fat any more and I can sing for other people.”Lisa has a close family and a tight-knit group of girlfriends who she has known for years. But she felt none could understand what she was going through.So she turned to the internet to see if there were other people suffering like she was and was shocked by what she found.
The former Emmerdale star added: “I thought I was the only one going through this, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
She says she hated her body even more after losing the weight due to her sagging skin(Image: ITV)
Looking in the mirror at her excess skin before undergoing surgery (Image: ITV)
“There are literally thousands of people who have done so well to lose huge amounts of weight, but then are left with this horrid sagging skin. “There are people crowdfunding to pay for the loose skin removal surgery. It isn’t available on the NHS and it costs thousands. “The NHS want people to lose weight for their health, but once they have they are on their own and they are left with a whole other problem of loose skin. “I started talking to other people online and this community became my comfort blanket.”
Lisa created her Baggy Body Club and went to meet some of her new friends in person, to hear their stories. Despite being terrified of surgery, the chats gave her the confidence to go under the knife.She said: “The night before the surgery, I was so petrified everybody thought I wasn’t going to go through with it.”I was thinking that in 11 hours I could be dead. I might not wake up.
In a supermarket buying health food as part of her strict diet (Image: ITV) “Could I have lived with the loose skin for the rest of my life? Yes, but I wouldn’t have been happy. I don’t feel like I have had cosmetic surgery , I have corrected what I had done to myself.
“Nobody made me eat 50 Twix bars, or a whole packet of sausages at one sitting. I did that to myself. No one made me not go to the gym.
“Some weeks I was probably having seven takeaways a week. I did that to myself. I have to take responsibility for that.”Lisa had two operations – the first a fleur de lis tummy tuck which left her with vertical and horizontal scars, as well as surgery to remove the loose skin from her thighs. The second was to lift her boobs and get rid of the flapping bingo wings.It took Lisa several long, painful months to recover from the surgery, which she insisted is no easy route to a slim physique. But now she couldn’t be more thrilled with her new body.
She added: “I had more than 60 stretch marks, so what are a few scars? I do not care about my scars at all.
“I am proud of them. I am happy to show them. I couldn’t be happier about my body now if I tried.
“I can’t quite believe it. Before, people always asked me if I was going back into Emmerdale, now I get asked what does it feel like to be able to wear a bikini, so I decided to show people.“I had never been able to wear sexy underwear, before it was all just functional, mumsy bras and big knickers.”Now I can wear little sexy sets. I could only use plus-size shops, now there isn’t one shop I can’t go in.”I don’t drink, eat unhealthily or smoke. Shopping is my new addiction.“On the train from Manchester to London, the old me would have had a coffee, baguette, red wine, crisps and a cake.”Now I plan my meals and order a sparkling water, people can’t believe it.”
The only downside to Lisa’s new life is that she feels like people constantly analyse her and are waiting for her to pile the pounds back on. But she insisted that will not happen.She added: “This documentary is the thing I am most proud of in my life. I wanted people to see that surgery isn’t the easy route, it is really hard. But the results I have got are amazing.
“The buzz I get from ordering clothes that are size 12 is unbelievable. “People are waiting for the day that I put weight back on, but it will never happen.“I have made a lifestyle change and I am never going to go back.”
Source: Mirror
