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Bride unrecognisable after 90kg transformation
A bride who struggled with an 8,000 calories per day habit has transformed her life and body after dropping nearly half her body weight.
Darci Hanson reached her heaviest weight in November 2018 when she weighed in at 190 kg.
The mum-of-six who was planning her dream wedding was worried she wouldn’t be able to find a wedding dress in her size – 34.
The 33-year-old struggled with a real addiction to food and low self-esteem from a young age, before she was able to overcome her demons as an adult.
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“I was always a pudgy kid, but low self-esteem compounded by poor relationships made me turn to food to try and cope,” Darci says.
Darci says at her heaviest life was tricky, she was run down and tired and constantly scared of an embarrassing situation in public.
“It’s not easy existing in the world at that size,” she says. “The worst thing was always feeling exhausted and winded. I had no energy.”
“I remember stepping on a stool at a fall festival to get on a hay ride with my daughter and the stool completely crumbling beneath me.
“Walking into restaurants and being terrified that the chairs would have arms on them was always a big one, too. I never knew if I was going to be able to fit in them or not.”
Darci’s turning point
It wasn’t until tragedy struck that Darci was able to overcome her struggles, swapping her emotional eating for exercise, and a healthy outlook.
“I lost a dear friend way too early in life, and it made me look around and realize I wanted a better life for myself and my kids,” Darci says. “I didn't want to waste a single second I had been given.”
After switching to a ketogenic diet that focused on healthy high protein, high-fat foods and starting a workout routine, Darci managed to drop 25kg.
And after consulting with her doctor, she then underwent vertical gastric sleeve surgery in April 2019, which – along with a dramatic change in diet and exercise habits - helped her lose another 65kg.
The moment Darci’s weight-loss really hit home was when she went shopping for a wedding dress.
What was earlier a scary thought, turned out to be a beautiful moment for the bride-to-be.
“I never thought I would get to wear my dream dress, and that finding it would be so easy,” she admits.
“I bought it off the rack and my sister in law made one tiny adjustment to one of the sleeves for me, but other than that it fit like a glove.”
“I hadn't been that size since I was a freshman in high school, so it was a huge accomplishment for me.”
These days, Darcy maintains her new-found fitness with a vegetarian and gluten-free diet and regular exercise.
She is able to find more energy to be with her six children, Kathryn, nine, Julianna, eight, Rosaleigh, seven, Wyatt, six, Franklin, four, and Annabelle, three.
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