BUT this embarrassing incident didn't shock
Alana Faulk into action because she cheated her bypass and piled 15
STONE back on again!
MASSIVE: Alana shocked friends and family with her 20 STONE weight loss [PA]
She lost 20st after being fitted with a gastric band but regained almost all of it.
Doctors had said that Alana, then 41st, wasn't suitable for gastric bypass surgery, but that changed after she got trapped in the toilets at her local GPs and had to be freed by firefighters.
The nightclub owner from Detroit, Michigan, has always struggled with her size: “The lifestyle was a lot of drink and greasy food.
“But gradually I began to wonder what sort of toll it was taking on my body. I loved to dance the night away but it wasn't as easy as it once had been.
“I loved calorie-packed drinks and late-night greasy snacks but they took their toll on my waistline.
“When I couldn’t do up my size 66 jeans, I just bought one bigger size after another.
“By early 2000 I was seriously worried about my weight.”
Alana's weight rocketed so much that she had to be weighed using scales meant for TRUCKS.
HUGE: Nightclub owner, Alana, weighed in at 41 stone before her impressive and natural weight loss [PA]
She was unable to get up or move out of the way so anyone else could get in.
“After half an hour, the surgery called the fire brigade. Five firefighters managed to break in and get me out. I felt so ashamed.”
This was the eye-opener her doctor needed, and a few months later she underwent a successful gastric band operation.
The weight quickly began to fall off, and in just a year, Alana had lost more than 20st: “Friends barely recognised me and I felt fabulous."
But her battle with her weight was far from over.
“At first I couldn't even consider eating a cheeseburger. But then, after about five years, I discovered I could eat more and drink more.”
Alana quickly reverted to her previous unhealthy diet and began putting on all the weight she had lost.
HAPPY: Losing such a drastic amount of weight has made Alana happier than ever [PA]
“I was so hefty I couldn’t move. I felt like a beached whale and because I was so ashamed I didn't call for anyone to help me.
“Instead I crawled to the front door myself. I was so exhausted I slept on the hall floor for an hour.
“I knew this was my lowest point. I knew I had to change myself. Or die.”
Alana realised if she wanted to shift the weight for good, needed to lose weight the old-fashioned way.
She ditched the junk food and alcohol and began living on salads and diet drinks.
“It hasn't been easy, but I am moving in the right direction. I'm now 20 stone and I have so much more energy.
"I'm half the woman I used to be but I've never felt more whole.
“I’ve quit drinking completely, which was difficult because I still owned a bar.
“I’ve completely turned my life around.”
