When food addict Fran Lowe was told she wasn’t overweight enough to have an NHS gastric band at 19st she feared she’d never win her battle with obesity.
After years of overeating and trying different diets, the unemployed size 26 mum saw the operation as her last chance.
Unlike her younger sister, Alex, who had previously weighed 18st but managed to lose 6st through diet and exercise, she simply couldn’t lose the weight naturally.
So, when generous Alex, 32, lent Fran her credit card to pay for the £4,500 gastric band op privately she was thrilled.
Now 5ft 5 Fran, 35, who’s shed a massive 9 1/2st since her operation, says she is glad the NHS turned her down because paying back the loan to her sister in instalments is giving her an incentive to keep the weight off.
32 STONE TEEN AMY JOHNSTON: 'I'M TOO FAT TO WORK BUT DIETING'S HARD AND BORING'
Last month it was revealed that two million obese people in the UK will be eligible for weightloss surgery under new proposed guidelines at a cost of £12 billon to the NHS.
But worryingly, despite the enormous cost to the taxpayer, a large proportion of patients are unlikely to keep the weight off. A recent survey revealed 63 per cent of patients put weight back on within two years of their operation.
Fran, who works as a beauty therapist, explains: “Despite my stomach being smaller following the op, my brain still thinks about food in the same way and I could still binge on crisps and put the weight back on, stretching my band.
But knowing I have to pay the money back to Alex stops me. If I'd had the operation for free, however, it could be a different story.
“Too many people are given gastric ops on the NHS and then pile the weight back on. If you get something for nothing you’re less likely to appreciate it.
"I pay my sister back £120 a month and still have about £3K to pay. But having to pay back the money is what stops me going back to my old ways.
I’m so grateful to my sister helping me out. She saved my life because I was eating myself into an early grave.”
Read more of this story in Closer mag out today