Chanelle Hayes opens up about gastric sleeve after ‘food addiction’

Big Brother star Chanelle Hayes has revealed that she had a gastric sleeve operation after her eating habits left her unable to walk up a flight of stairs without feeling breathless.

In a gastric sleeve operation, surgeons remove part of the stomach and join the remaining parts together to create a smaller stomach (around a tenth of its original size), forcing patients to reduce their portion size, which helps them lose weight.

Speaking about her “food addiction”, Chanelle explained that she decided to seek medical help after her weight peaked at 17 stone and her blood pressure “rocketed”.

She said, "It was horrendous. I didn’t want to see or speak to anyone. I didn’t even want to leave the house or go anywhere - I was like a hermit in my home.”

“I couldn’t bear to do anything. Every time I had an offer to work, I would just turn it down, so it massively impacted me financially. The lockdown happened and I kept eating because of the stress and I just ballooned and got bigger and bigger."

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Chanelle continued, "Everybody was saying they didn’t like being in lockdown, but I was just so pleased that I didn’t have to go out anywhere or see anyone.

“I have my kids who I need to be a role model for. It’s not healthy for them to see me yo-yoing with my weight. I went to the doctors before my operation at the very beginning of the pandemic last year because I was just exhausted all the time, I felt horrendous. They said a lot of it was down to my weight because I was putting so much stress on my body.”

After speaking to a psychologist and a nutritionist, Chanelle opted to get the gastric sleeve operation and has since lost seven stone and has dropped down to a size ten dress size.

Chanelle told The Sun Online, “I am so happy. I don’t remember every being this happy or content with where my life is going in every aspect. Not just looks because it’s had such a huge impact on my mental and physical health. It’s absolutely changed my life.”

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Chanelle’s weight loss surgery comes after she unveiled the results of a hair transplant after years of yo-yo dieting left her with thinning and weakened locks.

“I always hated my forehead, but my weight gain and loss has really receded my hairline and thinned out my hair. Gaining weight also changed my face. So this transplant is just one thing to get me on my way to feeling better about myself,” she told Closer.

Speaking about the aftermath of the procedure, Chanelle added, “It’s been really painful, and my head has swollen to the size of a hot air balloon, but it’ll be so worth it. I’ve hated my hairline for years and I wanted to do something about it. Hopefully, this time next year, I’ll have a great head of hair and feel more confident about myself.”