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This is how I halved my size

Jackie had been covering up for half a decade

A nursing student who spent years covering up for half a decade after shedding nearly half her weight now flaunts her new body in a sports bra after having 4kg of loose skin removed.

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Jackie Lackenby, 33, from Newcastle, lost 12 stone after having gastric bypass surgery nine years ago and had been carrying around the excess skin ever since.

After years of struggling with confidence and even feeling too uncomfortable to get dressed in front of her husband, she finally forked out £9,000 for the skin-cutting surgery last month.

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(Credit: Caters)

Now the mum-of-two, who standing at 5ft 7ins and weighing 83kg, doesn’t hesitate to wear revealing clothing and is so proud of the surgical scars on her stomach that she has been lifting her shirt to show people.

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The student also exercised last week for the first time in three years and is planning to participate in a 5km run in two months.

She previous had to stop working out when the extra skin led to cellulitis, a life-threatening bacterial infection that causes the skin to become swollen and red.

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(Credit: Caters)

Jackie, a governor and medical assistant at an NHS trust, said: “I used to be so embarrassed of the way my body looked and now I wear a sports bra and pair of shorts when I work out.

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“It has boosted my confidence so much. I’ve even been proud to show people my scars.

“A lot of people didn’t realise how much extra skin I had because I always made sure I covered up. I was very body conscious and didn’t want anyone to see it.

“I was so uncomfortable about my skin that I even made an effort to hide it from my husband.

“It feels great to be working out again. I’m hoping that I can run in a 5K at the end of November.

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“My condition made working out dangerous, so I had to stop, which meant I could no longer work on losing more weight.”

The mum had the ‘weight loss surgery,’ a procedure in which the stomach is divided into two pouches, aged 24 after battling obesity since she was 12 years old.

From childhood, she experienced unexplained excessive weight gain and had difficulties burning fat.

Doctors never diagnosed her with a particular condition, but suggested it was a metabolism issue that could only be fixed by performing the NHS funded operation.

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(Credit: Caters)

Jackie said: “I had been monitored by my doctor since I was 12 years old. I tried several prescribed medications to lose weight, but they never worked.

“I even tried a nine-month milkshake diet and it helped me lose seven stone, but then I gained 11 stone when I went back to my normal diet.

“My doctor finally referred me for bypass surgery, which was what I always wanted.”

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Jackie, who says the weight loss made it possible for her to have two children, has had such a life-changing experience that she quit her government job to pursue a career in healthcare.

In addition to her role at an NHS trust, she also volunteers at universities, speaking about the benefits of bariatric surgery.

She is now on the path to becoming a nurse and hopes to eventually work in bariatrics.

Jackie said: “I never tried having children prior to the surgery because my doctors told me that my weight was affecting my fertility.

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(Credit: Caters)

“I propose the students with a counter argument to what the mainstream media tells them .

“My weight loss has impacted my life in ways I never thought possible. It changed my whole career path.”

Now that Jackie is getting back into working out, her goal is to lose about one more stone.

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The aspiring nurse still has a small amount of excess skin on her legs and arms, but hopes to get rid of it by building muscle.

She said: “Once the pain from the surgery goes away, I’m planning to get back into the gym and maybe even get a personal trainer.

“I still have some excess skin on my arms and legs, but hopefully I can get rid of it by just working out.”

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