'A 50K BODY - BUT I'M STILL NOT HAPPY'
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She's had every bit of her nip/tucked, but Katie Perks, 30, still wants more
"Studying the woman's face in an old photo, I'm staggered by how old she looks. Fat face, piggy eyes, a shelf of a bust and a monstrous belly. Not quite ugly, but about as far from attractive as you can go. Sound harsh? It does, but I can be that critical because the woman I'm talking about is me. Well, the old me. Four years ago I was a whopping size 26, and had the face, body and mindset of a woman three times my age.
Since then, I have had cosmetic surgery totalling almost £50,000, to transform me from an ugly duckling into a swan. And I'm not done yet - later this year I'll have a full body lift, and will finally have the figure I've craved all these years.
All my life I'd been fat, verging on obese. In shops, sales assistants didn't say I was too fat for their clothes, but they didn't have to. The disgust on their faces was plain to see. I'd get people doing double takes in the street to gawp at my size and make snide comments. I didn't feel accepted anywhere. And so, after years of hating my shape - and comfort eating to cope with my self-loathing - I'm now determined to make myself look good all over. No matter what it takes or costs.
My weight problem dated back to when my parents divorced. I was just five years old and remember turning to food for comfort. I gorged on crisps and chocolate. I'd eat till I felt sick, but it didn't stop me. By the age of 15 I was a size 16 and weighed 14st. Desperately unhappy, I went off the rails, got in with the wrong crowd and started drinking and smoking. Boys weren't an issue. I mean, nobody in their right mind fancied me I was just their fat friend, someone to have a laugh with.
I longed to have a tiny waist and slim thighs, but who was I kidding? I was known as Big Kate. As my self-esteem continued to nosedive, my parents couldn't cope, so I ended up in care.
Any self-worth I had left soon disappeared, and I left school at 16 with no qualifications and weighing 17st. I never thought I could do anything, so I drifted from factory job to factory job. Home was a grubby bedsit in a hostel. I still drank too much - it was the only way to block out my sorry excuse for a life. Aged 19, I hit rock bottom. I realised if I didn't change my life I would die this way - fat and unhappy.
I contacted social services and started having counselling. Slowly I realised that deep down I was a good person. I got help with some interviews and landed a job at a supermarket near my home in Shifnal, Shropshire. And it was there I met Andy Perks. He was kind, gentle, funny, and he seemed to see the real me, not the fat blob I'd become. And when, 18 months later, he asked me to marry him, I didn't hesitate. We both said we wanted to try for a baby, but I knew I was too heavy so I started an extreme diet. I'd eat nothing one day, then binge the next. In just over a year, I lost enough weight to fit into a size-18 wedding dress. Within a year I'd fallen pregnant, but after denying myself for so long, I took advantage of eating for two.
By the time I gave birth to Zoe in 2005, I weighed 19st and was a size 26 - bigger than I'd ever been. I stared in the mirror at the woman I'd become, and tears rolled down my fat cheeks. 'How can Andy love this?' I thought, staring at my 46F bust and sagging belly. But I shook my dark thoughts away and dedicated myself to being a good mum.
Later that year, I read about the Cambridge Diet, and I decided I had nothing to lose - except weight. Within two weeks I was 1st lighter. From then on I was determined to slim down and stay that way. Sticking rigidly to the weight-loss plan, I lost 9st in as many months. At just 9st and a size 10, I was literally less than half the woman I used to be. And my life changed beyond all recognition.
I had so much more energy, I could fit in to almost anything I picked up in the trendy shops and I could run around after Zoe without my thighs chafing together. But it wasn't long before the euphoria of losing the weight waned, only to be replaced by another anxiety. I was slim - but I still had the skin of a fat person. My boobs were only an A cup, but they drooped almost to my waist. My belly had a huge overhang of skin that I had to tuck into my pants.
I'd read enough to know that I needed a boob job and a tummy tuck. When I told Andy, 34, he said I didn't need it, but if it would make me happy, that he'd support me. By now I worked as a counsellor for the diet plan I'd used, so I decided to save up for the two ops.
Then, one night when I was using the internet, I stumbled across an advert for Living's Extreme Makeover TV show. The producers were looking for people to have transformations - I applied and was accepted. I had consultations with the surgeons and they went though the list of procedures that they felt would give me the perfect body. They recommended I have a tummy tuck, breast implants and an uplift, a lower facelift and an arm lift, all in one operation. And the really good part? It would be free. As I was admitted to theatre for the surgery I remembered feeling so scared. What if something went wrong? But I'd come too far to back out.
The surgery lasted eight hours and the recovery was painful. I was shocked by the scars. But dressed, I looked amazing. I was also given hair extensions and teeth veneers. When my new look was revealed to friends and family, they were stunned. Andy's face was a picture! I looked sexy and 20 years younger. 'You're still the same in there though,' he said, putting his hand over my heart.
But I was treated like a different person. Now I was slim, men held doors open for me and openly flirted. Other attractive women would eye me up and down when I was out shopping - but not with disgust, with envy. And I admit, I liked it. But my priority was being a good mum, wife and getting on my with my life.
Six months later, Andy and I tried for another baby - and Polly was born in January 2008. This time I'd been sensible with my diet and I lost the baby weight I gained.
Although my body looked good - it needed a little fine-tuning. So I decided to have a thigh lift and a second breast uplift. I'd saved the £12,000 I needed and in July 2008 I went in for the surgery.
Some people will think I'm mad, but I don't care. Andy loves me - each time I have surgery it's like he gets a brand new wife!
There are areas of my body that still need to be changed though - my back has loose skin on it, and my tummy could be flatter. My belly button needs to be repositioned, too.
So I'm going to have one final op in December - a body lift. I'll be pretty much cut in half so all the excess skin can be trimmed away around my tummy. After years of trying, I'll finally have my dream body. Some people think I'm addicted to surgery, but I'm not. I just want to be the best I can. What's wrong with that?"
Andy says: "I've always loved Katie regardless of how she looked. She worked hard to lose weight and if she wants to change her body to fit the new her, I support her all the way. I always felt proud to be her husband, but now even more so. She's sexy with her new body, but I fell in love with her smile - and that hasn't changed."
WHAT KATIE'S HAD DONE
Tummy tuck £6,700
Arm lift
£5,500
Facelift £5,700
Breast implants &
uplift £7,500
Veneers £12,000
Thigh lift &
2nd breast uplift £12,000
TOTAL: £49,400
WORDS: LUCY BULMER, LOUISA GREGSON. PHOTOGRAPHY: LANCTON. HAIR & MAKE-UP: SARA BOWDEN. STYLING: LUCIE CLIFFORD. KATIE WEARS: DRESS, DEBENHAMS; RING AND NECKLACE, FREEDOM AT TOSHOP; SHOES, FAITH
This article has 17 comments
Katie has done an amazing job loosing all that weight. She has turned her life around and taken it on her own accord to help others who want to lose weight. I think its great that Katie is happy.
Katie looked great at 27 and looks great now.
All of us put on a little bit of weight as we get older.
As for the surgery I think that following all that weight loss its perfectly acceptable to go for the operation to loose the excess skin. We all have things that we dont like about ourselves and given the chance would change them.
At the end of the day Katie is is just saying she feels great and loves the way she looks. And so she should she has completely turned her life around and committed herself to helping others by becoming a Cambridge Counseller.
I think that any of us would feel great if we had achieved what Katie has and would want everyone to see how happy we were.
Well Done Katie.
By Jess. Posted October 17 2009 at 2:35 PM.
Guys, i am guessing that most of you do not have good bodies. i don't i can admit that but at least katie has done something about that. i have done the Cambridge diet and lost 2 stone and i have managed to keep that off. maybe katie has put a little bit of weight on since she was 27 but who cares, she has kept off an awful lot so fair play to her. you lot are actually being really mean about someone that you do not know.
By vicky. Posted October 15 2009 at 10:30 AM.
I can see why shes had the surgery however, she needs to lose that weight again (back down to 8 1/2) before she has the op otherwise its pointless. Stop eatin and get ur fat a*** down the gym love!!!!! - Lose all the weight THEN have the skin removed.
By Dee. Posted September 5 2009 at 5:45 PM.
she hasnt kept the weight ff for 4 years as the picture of her now at 30 is a lot heavier than the one at the bottom of her at 27. she looks normal now certainly not stunning, i wouldntbe looking her up and down with envy. i think she needs to get over herself a bit.
By Victoria. Posted August 31 2009 at 10:59 PM.
A body lift will leave scars, always does. Surgey is not the answer, it's a quick fix.
By Emma. Posted August 16 2009 at 2:45 AM.
She has done ok but looks larger in the current photo than the one from three years back.
In the current photo she looks around 10 to 11 stone, and not the 8.5 stone as claimed.
By Sharon Aimes. Posted August 11 2009 at 9:34 AM.
having surgery is not a quick fix, after spending years overweight it is hard living with excess skin and given the option that Katie had i would do exactly the same, whether she has surgery or not does in no way say her children would be going without. i think Katie has done an excellent job with her weight loss journey which ended with her having the surgery, you are an inspiration to lots of others and people who have experienced being heavily overweight will know how hard that journey is!!!
By Lou Collins. Posted June 14 2009 at 9:14 AM.
katie...
um, how are you able to keep the weight off for FOUR years, when you are CLEARLY much fatter at 30 than your photo at 27??
Yes fine, you've accecpted your heft and you're happy with it, doesn't mean the rest of the world thinks you're stunning just because your warped self-perspective tells you that you are.
Chublet crumpet muffin!
Did you read the article about having 'carbface'???
GO! LEARN! RESIST WHITE BREAD!
By ami lock. Posted June 12 2009 at 7:39 PM.
Katie looks fantastic now. Any operation carries huge risks, so for her to undertake it when she had small children was no quick fix option - she had to think about what she was doing. After all her hard work in losing the weight why not go the extra length to complete her look? I can only think that people who have made negative comments have never had a weight problem in their life. Katie is an absolute inspiration, so much so I have used the same diet and lost 3 stone. Good on you Katie and best of luck with whatever you want to acheive in life.
By Amanda Holt. Posted June 10 2009 at 4:24 PM.
After having lost so much weight I can understand that the excess skin that was left behind was almost debilitating, Why have a body of old woman after all that hard work and effort to lose the weight and also maintain the goal weight after.
I think that a decision to have surgery was not made lightly and also would have taken a lot of courage as did the weight loss programme, i think that you are an inspirational person and I wish you all the luck in the future.
By Debbie Pierce. Posted June 7 2009 at 9:12 AM.
I am happy with my body!! i lost nine stone and i did go to the gym but exercise can not tone up excess skin and anyone with excess skin would already know that, my surgery although is classed as cosmetic in my eyes it was more reconstructive, after my weight loss my skin was to big for my body so i had the option to go on extreme makeover and so i did. With regards to the money that i have spent i saved that money over 4 years and my children come first and do not go without as i always meet there needs above mine everytime.With regards to the comment that i look alot fatter now! i love my figure i feel more sexy and attractive at 30 then i ever have. Also i do know about healthy eating and nutrition as that is my full time job i have kept my weight off for four years and i have worked hard. i also motivate and support lots of men and women everyday to help them achieve their weight loss goals and give them on going support to maintain that loss for life!! so thank you for your comments but i think that the story is a little misleading as i have only had surgery twice and i am not trying to get a perfect body just one that fits me!!
By katie perks. Posted June 7 2009 at 9:08 AM.
she looks rather fatter at 30 than she does at 27.
she should take her time learning about healthy eating habits, not expensive quick-fixes.
By ami lock. Posted June 3 2009 at 12:37 AM.
Going to the gym doesn't help to get rid of excess skin!
By Unknown. Posted June 2 2009 at 1:18 PM.
Credit where it's due to Katie. Losing so much weight is an achievement in itself and she deserves to look how she wants. I have lost 6 1/2 stone myself with a bit more to go but if I thought I would be able to have the necessary surgery to remove my excess skin it would be such a boost to my self esteem. I think the money was well spent and can only imagine the change it has made to her life. If there are any other make over transformation programmes out there looking for a willing participant please get in touch. Well Done Katie
By Carol Taylor. Posted June 1 2009 at 7:32 PM.
Wow, she looks like a completely different person.
You look fabulous, congratulations on the weightloss and transformation!! :-)
By J. Posted May 31 2009 at 10:47 PM.
Instead of getting a body lift. GO TO THE GYM!!
what a cop out
By lara. Posted May 31 2009 at 6:12 PM.
I think that she is killing her body even more. Fair enough she is getting the perfect body out of it- but its no way to go. She should be spending that money on her kid's and enjoying her life.
She looks amazing now, so its time to have a really good life with her kids.
By amy locke. Posted May 31 2009 at 4:47 PM.