Vanessa Feltz Gastric Band
In June 2010, television presenter Vanessa Feltz went to Belgium for a weight loss operation. After years of battling with her weight through unsuccessful diets, she opted for a laparoscopic gastric band operation. Vanessa weighed 16 stone 4 pounds and was a dress size 20 when she had the operation.
Early days
Vanessa has always had issues with her weight which started when she was a child. Vanessa's fluctuating weight was a constant source of humour for the media and she has participated in numerous diets which saw her lose and regain the same four to six stone in ten years. In 2004 she resorted to taking part in 'Celebrity Fit Club' - a reality show in which celebrities try to lose weight in order to try for yet again to lose her excess weight. The British public watched Vanessa conform to a strict diet and exercise regime and eventually lose just over 2 stone. Like before however Vanessa could not keep to the regime and slowly the weight crept back on. At the start of 2010 and at the end of another failed diet, Vanessa stopped counting the calories.
Vanessa knew it would only be a matter of time before weight related health conditions such as diabetes were upon her and she knew she had to do something about it. In 2010 she finally decided that she did not have the willpower to continue dieting alone and as a last resort she would opt for weight loss surgery.
The Operation
In June 2010, Vanessa decided to travel to Belgium to undergo an operation to have a gastric band fitted as she was sick of being labelled as 'the poster girl for fat people'. The operation which takes around one hour, consists of a band being placed around the top part of the stomach. This effectively makes the stomach one sixth of its original size, insuring that the patient can only eat a certain amount of food each day. The day after surgery, Vanessa was back at home and three days later she was back at work. Within three days of the operation Vanessa had lost 9 pounds, and by the end of the month she had lost just over a stone. She is expected to lose around a stone a month and Vanessa says she will be happy when she is around the ten stone mark, and a dress size 12.
Present Day
Vanessa feels it was a shame that she felt the need to undergo the weight loss operation but she said after years of unsuccessful diets she was becoming more and more upset by the comments and stories in the media. She also wished that she could have had the willpower to lose weight on her own. Some of Vanessa's friends have said they are worried about whether the band will work for her, as they believe she needs to conquer her underlying issues with overeating first. Vanessa says that she is now looking forward to the future and she cannot wait to buy her first 'off the peg' item of clothing.
