"At the three-year mark it was almost like a switch had been flicked and I started to feel hungry again."

Award-winning singer Adele has gone through some drastic changes in her life and career over the past year. Let’s unpack her latest headlines.

Libby Oakes-Ash, 58, from Canberra, weighed 130 kilos when she decided to get bariatric surgery but since then she has made a startling discovery...

The thing about being addicted to food is that it’s a very acceptable addiction. It’s also very hard to overcome as you need to eat to stay alive - so how can you treat a food addiction? I thought I’d found the answer when I had bariatric surgery but I turned out to be very wrong.

I started overeating in my 20s. Unhappy in my marriage, I sought solace in food. When I was anxious I’d reach for the cookie jar and try to eat my problems away. I was the true definition of a comfort eater. Carbohydrates, particularly anything sugary, were my go-to foods and I could easily eat a packet of Tim-Tams in front of the TV.

By the time I was 27 and had a couple of kids, I was 15-20 kilos overweight. Knowing I needed to make a change, when my marriage ended I walked thousands of kilometres and ate healthily, and the weight came off. But six years later, I’d put it all back on after a traumatic event caused me to turn back to comfort eating. So with grit and determination I lost it all again - this time with clean eating and lots of walking and cycling.

When I turned 50 it was all back on though - I weighed 130 kilos and realised I was a classic yo-yo dieter. By now I was too old to be able to carry so many excess kilos and I was wearing out my joints. Something needed to change.

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Libby at 130 kilos - she knew she needed to change something. Image: Supplied.

Then one day I was looking after my grandkid and tripped over him as he was playing on the floor. After falling to the ground with a thump, I couldn’t pull myself back up.

I need to do something drastic about my body, I realised, frightened about my future.

Previously I’d always seen weight-loss surgery as a cop out but now I saw it as my only option. Investigating, I went to a talk about gastric sleeve surgery where they remove three-quarters of your stomach so you can’t physically eat as much food anymore and also feel full quicker. They gave me lots of information about downsides and risks but I was so desperate all I could think about was losing weight. It felt like the answer to all of my problems. After one meeting with a nutritionist and without seeing a psychologist, I was booked in for bariatric surgery.

Although it cost $30,000, I was able to pay for most of it using my health cover and the remaining $7,000 I took out of my superannuation. Before the surgery I cooked and froze three months worth of meals using organic ingredients and healthy wholefoods. This is the start of a new me, I thought.

And for a while it was. Two weeks after I had the surgery I started exercising again and thanks to my healthy meals and small appetite, the weight dropped off. Best of all, I didn’t feel hungry anymore.

After her surgery Libby felt fit and lost weight. Image: Supplied.

In two years I lost 51 kilos and was delighted with my new figure. But by year three I started having some terrible side-effects. I was deficient in iron, vitamin D and B12, my hair had fallen out so I’d been left with bald spots and my nails were brittle.

As well as this, I was also putting weight back on. At the three-year mark it was almost like a switch had been flicked and I started to feel hungry again. Unable to control my urges to eat, my old habits came back.

Looking online I discovered that my story wasn’t unusual. Research done by the American Medical Association in 2015 found that within five years of having a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, nearly half of patients experienced significant weight gain.

Libby began to feel hungry again and put weight back on. Image: SBS / Michelle Kroll.

For me personally, I felt like my stomach had stretched and could accommodate more food, therefore I didn’t feel full so quickly. Gradually my weight began to increase and I put 24 kilos back on. I was so upset and beat myself up for not having more self control. Then I went to online support groups and realised so many other people had the same story. After I shared my story on a forum around 30-50 women messaged me to say they’d been through the same thing after surgery - significant weight loss followed by weight gain at the three-year mark.

Now, four years post surgery, I battle every day to keep weight off. Weighing 95 kilos, I’d like to get back to my goal weight of 79 kilos. I regret having the weight loss surgery and would take it back if I could.

Libby now realises her weight issues are psychological. Image: SBS / Michelle Kroll.

I realise my weight problems were due to an addiction to food which was psychological. Instead of spending $30,000 to shrink my stomach, I would have been better off spending that money on a psychologist. But unfortunately it’s too late for me.

I’m sharing my story to warn others that weight loss surgery might not be the answer. I’d lost weight naturally twice before and could have done it again with the right support. I am now seeing a psychologist and dealing with why I overeat.

Before anyone goes near the surgeon’s knife, I believe they should have six months of counselling and regular meetings with a nutritionist as part of the package. I also believe there needs to be much better and longer support post surgery, such as gym membership, regular appointments with a nutritionist and support groups. This way we are setting people up for long term success not initial success and long term failure.

This article was originally published on 17.3.20 and updated on 22.7.20